A Collection of Short Stories II
by Toltec Spirit
Summary: My mind can never be put to rest, always coming up with new ideas that get stuck in my head. So here is the sequel to A Collection Of Short Stories. I've covered many genres and situations in the hopes of pleasing as many people as I can. About three weeks of work has gone into this, so reviews are appreciated. I hope you all have fun reading!
1. Bloodthirst

**Bloodthirst**

The cool cloak of night had descended swiftly upon Rio, bringing with it a slew of changes from the expected to the unnerving. It was during this time that the deadly assassins of the jungle emerged, stealthy animals who moved through the undergrowth like shadows and devoured the unsuspecting and foolish.

The golden crescent moon poured from her graceful curve a dim light, but it was not enough to beat back the blackness that oozed across the land.

Suffering and death waited behind every bush and in every treetop, it seemed, natural-born killers with vicious claws and gleaming teeth darting in all directions in the search for their next meal. Even those who were at the pinnacle of the food chain were vulnerable to being targeted by their own kind, and the situation grew drastically worse for the lower species.

But outside of every established hierarchy there exists a class of nonconformists, and this chain of power was no different.

This cruel domain housed a group of beings who showed no fear for each other, let alone the insignificant earthly victims they consumed. One glance at their cruel faces and piercing eyes and one could tell they were far from normal, and it was with that very realization in their minds did many regular animals perish.

Most hunted alone, though a few had formed pairs and worked to provide for each other, as well as mutually bonding when said couple embarked on a new and challenging prowl. Single or in teams, each and every one of these cryptic creatures craved the excitement of tracking down a food item, as well as the challenge that followed when they confronted their chosen prey.

But also ingrained into their very nature besides their propensity for violence was a strange thirst, a sinister craving for something other than flesh and bone. These sly terrors harbored a lust for blood, the warm fluid present in earth's fauna that served as the elixir of life.

They were well-modified to extract the blood of whatever unfortunate thing they managed to trap, using a razor-sharp tongue concealed inside their beaks that could easily slice through through feathers, fur, and skin. That slimy organ also aided them in drinking, coated with toxin-laden saliva to keep blood from clotting.

Through the horrid processes that created them, they were given highly refined senses, the ability to digest the liquid nutrition they obtained, and a crippling weakness to the sun's penetrating rays. That being said, the jungle was a cheerful and lively place to explore in the daylight hours, when they were tucked away into the shaded hollows of aged trees or huddling in whatever abandoned human buildings they could find.

But when dawn morphed into dusk and subsequently faded into evening, they left their shelters en masse, and not a single non-human soul was safe. By their innate instincts, they could discern down to the second when the limb of the sun sank below the unreachable horizon. Their internal alarms went off and woke the sleeping executioners, informing them that their period of rest and avoidance was finished.

At precisely the same time they all reacted to the stimulus, and to witness their arousal was most likely that last sight one would behold. Their bodies twitched, their tongues flicked out hungrily, and their burning scarlet eyes snapped open.

* * *

But before we join the sadistic avian monsters and observe the selective slaughter they so enjoy, it would suit this piece well to discuss their origins. And for that, we must slither eighteen years into the past, focusing our attention upon the two greedy birds who became the ancestors of all vampires.

But let it be known that the macabre fable is not entirely fact or fiction, as it has been told and retold by many generations of vampire family lines. Through countless beaks it has passed, some crucial details excluded and others inserted for the sake of improving its eeriness and mystery.

But let us drabble no more over these modifications, for the chronicle as a whole is forever shrouded in compelling, misty intrigue.

Legend has it that the oddly-named Raven and Victoria, a romantically-bonded pair of macaws – what species they actually were has been swallowed by the sands of time – lived happily in the beginning, bringing forth many children whom they loved dearly and raised splendidly.

But as the days and months went by, the couple became increasingly entranced by the star-sprayed dome of the night. They began to question the natural rhythm of life, confused as to why they were forced to sleep and miss out on the unrivaled design of the heavens.

The daytime was bright, overbearing, and laden with activity.

In contrast, the nighttime was peaceful, beautiful, and composed of rarely-seen spectacles.

Their innocent curiosity was soon twisted into hate and corrupt desire, as their endeavor to reverse their biologically-regulated sleep cycles proved fruitless. They sought some way to forever connect themselves with the night, to become creatures that thrived in it instead of ignoring it.

None of their fellow macaws could even make sense of the complete futility of their mission, and never offered any help to Raven and Victoria.

They were labeled as lunatics and shunned by avian society, only their offspring siding with them. But with their ultimate goal in jeopardy and the outlook of their future as bleak as ever, the birds did eventually spiral into madness.

And it was in that state of unfulfilled hope and insatiable need that they uncovered the grim solution.

Complying with the hellish voice inside his skull, Raven collected a number of violet orchids and stashed them on an altar built from piled stones. He offered his very blood as a tribute, slicing his chest open and dousing the orchids as he chanted in a convoluted language he himself created.

He then set the orchids ablaze and endlessly breathed in the thick, choking vapors. Nearly drained of blood and intoxicated into a stupor by the mesmerizing fumes, he collapsed upon the ashes as his life force began to desert him.

And then, the very cosmos he had become obsessed with intervened with its evil, complex magic. It pumped life back into him, changing him into something greater than he or Victoria ever imagined. Then and there, in the wake of the ritual, the plethora of traits that characterized him as a full-fledged vampire were gifted to him.

The moon was now his guiding light, it being his destiny to live out the rest of his existence under its mercurial glow, precisely the outcome he wanted. In return, the sun was now his enemy, and would lead to his undoing should he ever be caught under its fiery gaze.

Aside from that one stipulation, he was fully immortal and the supreme ruler of the jungle. Victoria was at a loss for words, her mate's once-impossible transformation having taken place right before her eyes. As they were inseparable, she refused to remain a simple macaw with a limited lifespan, seeing no other way out except to become a vampire as well.

She asked him for his favor, and he obliged her in a split second.

She cried out in a mix of stinging agony and endless pleasure as he bit down on her smooth neck, lapping up her elixir and injecting the venom responsible for mutating her. His appetite was voracious, and he sucked out every last drop of her irresistible blood in his feeding frenzy.

She died in his wings, but the venom carried out its duty and brought her back from the dead.

With the venom coursing through her chilled body, amplifying her abilities and ensuring a life without end, she swore her loyalty and love to Raven forevermore, and he did the same. Their intense crimson eyes and shimmering, jet-black plumage marked them as vampires, though Victoria's carried a visible royal purple tint to distinguish her as a female.

They ravaged the rainforest in unison from that point on, changing whatever birds they encountered and forming the basis for the vampire family tree. In that sense, they created scores of children, which in turn led to grandchildren, and on and on the cycle continued.

Their bloodthirsty empire became established in Rio, but such a plague could not be contained.

Raven's jumbled slurs were cleaned up and formalized, hundreds upon hundreds of words being thought up and agreed upon, and the vampire language has been taught and spoken ever since.

Eager to spread to other corners of the globe and achieve their own dominion, covens of macaws departed Rio and colonized the globe. The vampires became a breed of their own and changed the core meaning of life in their brave new world.

No matter where one lived, a confirmation that vampire birds were utterly real was but one look away.

What a frightening sight it was to shoot a casual glance out of a bedroom window at a nearby tree and spy two crimson orbs staring back, which would then blink and vanish without a trace.

They had taken the animal world by storm, and no action on the part of the humans could ever cleanse them from the world.

Drowning in the monumental pride of their achievement, Raven and Victoria drifted into obscurity. Ten years after their reincarnation, they were never heard from or seen again, the story of their birth and their deeds keeping their memory alive in the still hearts and tainted minds of demonized macaws everywhere.

They themselves became legends, always praised and never forgotten, their planet-wide influence a source of motivation and empowerment for their legions of descendants. The vampire society also weaved many a fantasy about them, some swearing high and low that they had seen Raven and Victoria in passing, while others claimed to have been visited by the godlike couple in their dreams.

Whether the lore was true or not was irrelevant, as the element of mystery in the parables – be they old or new – was never exhausting or dull. And on top of that, when covens converged in social gatherings, one random macaw was always dying to spill his guts about a purported brush with his ancient masters.

The youngsters were the fond of the tall tales, as were the adults – for different, more knowledgeable reasons, of course – the myths being a wellspring of harmless speculation and fun for all.

* * *

Let us conclude this insightful lesson and speed back to the present with but a few more parting thoughts.

Who would have ever known that vampires, black-hearted creatures who openly wrought death and terror upon the animal world could come to love their history, their makers… and each other?

Perhaps that is a question the infinitely wise Raven and Victoria were fit to answer if they were ever found and asked that same query.

But alas, they are as ethereal as the fog that rolls in from the silent sea.

And so it goes that, for the sake of this text, we must tuck that question away for a later time and immerse ourselves in the lives of one ordinary – possibly extraordinary – vampire couple.

* * *

"Oh man oh man, I shouldn't have stayed out this late…" grunted a frightened Scarlet Macaw as he wandered on through the inky blackness.

"Why didn't I visit Mom and Dad earlier? I should've known we would have talked on and on and… whoa!"

He squawked in pain as he tripped over an exposed root he couldn't even see and smacked his face on the ground.

"Ouch! Gah! I bet I fractured my beak."

He picked himself up and dusted his chest clean, a bit relieved that he was not bleeding. He continued trudging on, checking in every direction for the predators he assumed were out there… predators that ate up lost stragglers like him.

"Mom, Dad, I wish you were here to help. I don't know where I'm at or how to get home. Ahhh! "

He jumped and spun around at the sound of a twig snapping nearby, his heart racing underneath his tricolor feathers.

"Who's there? He-hello? Come out… or I'll… I'll…"

"Or you'll what?" a ghostly, feminine voice whispered menacingly, the noise filtering in from all directions.

An equally ethereal male voice added, "We've been following you, unlucky stranger. Or shall I say… hunting you."

The female whispered menacingly, "You belong to us now. There is no escape."

"Wherever… and whatever… you are… you better stay away… from me!" the Scarlet Macaw fired back, on the verge of hyperventilating and succumbing to his fear.

The invisible male quipped, "Aren't you the brave one? Well, we shall see how long your resolve lasts before you realize you are finished."

"Shall we begin, Ash?"

"We shall. You make the first move, my fallen angel."

From a spot on his right issued the unsettling rustle of leaves and breaking of sticks, only to stop suddenly. The macaw turned his head towards the source, and was instantly paralyzed with spine-tingling dread.

Not three feet away from him, hovering inside a bush, was a pair of crimson orbs that could only be interpreted as eyes.

"Your terror chokes the air like a fog, stranger. I find it very thrilling to be the cause of such a reaction in you…" intoned the female creature the eyes belonged to.

"Terror is a part of what you will be subject to as we suck your mortal life away. Terror, and oh-so-much pain."

"Oh no... are you both… vampires?" he squeaked out, his pupils widening.

"Yes."

The macaw was grabbed from behind and restrained by an iron grip, the wings wrapping around his chest as immovable as a statue. No matter how violently he squirmed or how hard he pulled, they would not release him or budge.

"No! Let me go! Someone help! HELP! HE-"

The male vampire silenced the screaming macaw by smothering his beak with a jet-black wing, shaking his head in a condescending manner.

"You must not yell so loud, pathetic bird. Would you enjoy being the cause of other birds' deaths? We will have to execute any you happen to attract, as we do not take kindly to having our whereabouts revealed."

The female, dressed in sultry mauve plumage, melted from the bush and came to a stop directly in front of the doomed Scarlet Macaw.

"Less prey for us to track if that happens, and our meals only fuel us for so long…" she proclaimed coldly.

"I am going to lower my wing now, as we have some questions to ask. If you so much as raise your voice _one_ time, I will shove my tongue into your beak, slice your throat into ribbons, and suck you dry from the inside out. Understood?"

The trembling bird weakly nodded his head, and Ash removed his right wing, tucking it neatly against his side.

"What is your name, poor, pitiful bird?"

"D-Drake…"

"Ah, thank you for telling us. Though I may be cruel, I tend to follow the unwritten laws of our society. And one decrees that we should always reveal our identities to those we plan to feast on."

The eye-meltingly sinister female coughed once and spoke.

"My name is Ravenna."

"And if you haven't already figured it out, my name is Ash."

"Ash and I have been mates for twenty years, truth be told. How could I not be attracted to a male as devious and heartless as him?"

"Vampires… have… mates? But… how? I thought… you could not reproduce... the natural way… as we do…"

Ravenna snorted and grew enraged in the course of one tiny second.

"There exists no comparison between your species and ours! We are many levels above mere mortals such as yourself! Insolent fool! How dare you insult our magnificent kind!"

Drake was rendered speechless by her instant outburst, his ears left ringing.

"Ravenna, dear, calm yourself. You must speak quietly in respect of the venerable night," Ash warned harshly, conviction evident in his tone.

She huffed twice and murmured through a clenched beak, "Forgive me, Ash. But you know I have a short temper and am irritated easily, especially by slander borne from the mouths of lowly pests such as him."

"Apology accepted. Now, are you going to carry on? Apparently, our guest here does not understand the mechanics of how we became mates."

"Ah, yes, of course," she said solemnly.

She inhaled a deep breath and began circling Ash and Drake, taking slow, deliberate footsteps as she did so.

"You see, pest, two vampires who develop a preliminary affection towards each other may eventually choose to see if a permanent union between them is viable. And to test that, they must each drink from the other. If the result is positive and they match well, the cryptic magic of this realm acts upon them and links them indefinitely by ways that are beyond our comprehension. It is best described as unadulterated love and the willingness of both to protect their partners from danger of any sort."

"And… what if… they do not match well?"

Ravenna, having completed three full revolutions, halted back where she started and looked Drake dead in the face.

"If the ritual fails, their minds are conditionally wiped clean. What I mean by that is they forget every single reason why they ever liked each other, and they part ways as if they had never known each other. That is how, with influence from our ancestors Victoria and Raven, that only couples who mesh reliably in terms of personality and abilities are created."

She blinked and paused for him to soak up the information, and then resumed speaking.

"So durable is the connection that if one partner dies, so does the other in a few days' time. That outcome is remarkably rare, however, as we are all instinctively wired to seek shelter before dawn. And even though we are capable of killing each other if pushed, that crime has never been committed in the entire history of our clan. It is an affront so vile that it is highly taboo. Raven and Victoria instilled in us the propensity to hate every creature to varying degrees, but also to live in harmony with our brethren. It is a stark contradiction, but one that has gained a permanent place among us and shapes our actions."

"Too bad you have learned more about us than many of our past victims, and yet your life will soon come to a grisly end…" Ash said with a sigh, faking regret.

Ravenna cocked her head and scooted closer to the living beverage vessel known as Drake.

"Now that you mention it, my culture lesson has drastically increased my thirst. I say we should wait no longer to indulge ourselves in the wickedly delicious juice coursing through his veins."

"Agreed, Ravenna. I am quite parched as well. Would you mind if I drank first?"

"Go ahead, Ash. But do save some for me."

"Naturally, my dear."

Ash let out a guttural snarl of anticipation and slid his whip-like, eight-inch tongue all the way out. Tenderly, he licked Drake's neck and upper back in a sickening manner, searching for the best spot to make his incision.

The Scarlet Macaw began trembling and breathing much too rapidly, initiating another round of furious struggles.

"Please… just let me go… I don't… want to die…"

Ravenna replied, "No chance, pest. Besides, wouldn't you rather leave your mortal life behind and become one of us? Your death will only be temporary, as the change is quite rapid."

"But I… I… don't want to be… a monster. I am fine… the way… I am!"

Ash, having found the perfect entry point, stilled his tongue and let it hover over the area.

"You will come to embrace your remodeled existence, I assure you. Now, please try to refrain from wriggling, as you will only induce unnecessary pain."

Ash's tongue flicked downwards and sliced clean through the skin where Drake's neck met his back.

The latter screeched in agony, but Ravenna thrust her wing over his beak to muffle him.

Without hesitation, Ash inserted his tongue into the wound and closed his beak over it, secreting anticoagulant and venom in tandem as he greedily began sucking away. Ash's throat contracted and relaxed as volumes of rich blood surged down his throat in waves, the hot, acidic liquid igniting his senses and quelling his thirst.

Drake went limp in his unbreakable hold, as his lowered blood volume failed to provide adequate oxygen to his brain and cells. Dull moans of despair seeped from his beak, barely audible to either vampire.

After ingesting twelve beakfuls of blood, Ash stepped back and let Drake drop to the ground like a stone.

"Good… so good… Ravenna… you must help yourself…" Ash wheezed out, practically intoxicated.

Ravenna growled and effortlessly heaved Drake off the ground, slitting open the side of his neck and commencing her meal. Drake's eyes rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness, Ravenna vacuuming out the dwindling supplies of blood present within.

When his veins ran dry and his heart stopped beating, she withdrew her head and let the still-warm corpse slump onto its stomach. She ran her long tongue all over her face, licking off the bloodstains. She then coiled it up inside her beak with a wet slurping sound, feeling bloated and drunk from all the nectar sloshing around inside her belly.

"Simply… spectacular..." she whispered, staggering a bit before turning to face her mate.

"Are you… full… Ash? Or would… you like… to go… after a second… bird?"

"No thank you… dear. I have had… enough to last… me… for a day… at the least. You?"

"I wish… to hunt… one last time. Care… to join me?"

"I shall… as soon as… my dizziness… has worn off."

"Fair enough."

Crouching down onto her belly as if she was exhausted, Ravenna focused her gaze on the unmoving Drake. She noticed his legs twitch, indicating that the transformation had recently begun.

"I know… you can hear me… so listen close. Do not expose… yourself to sunlight… whatsoever… and do not… ignore your thirst. If you... allow your hunger… to take control… you will attack… indiscriminately. And if you… maim one of your own kind… your punishment… will be death. Heed my advice… and a successful… cunning… vampire… you shall be."

"You should thank us… for our gift… one day. Feel free… to meet with us… at any time… in the future… and discuss your adventures."

The inebriated couple observed the moon as it crept ever-higher, away from the horizon. It had moved a total of five degrees by the time Ravenna and Ash were sober, and it was then that they stalked off into the jungle.

They left Drake's convulsing form behind, every single feather falling off to make room for the ebony ones that would be his new coat. When his final tail feather emerged from its base and elongated to its full length, his seizure ended.

A massive cloud drifted in front of the moon, and he was rendered invisible as a wide shadow swept over the jungle. The shadow soon continued on its way, and Drake sprung into view.

Out of his parted beak slithered a saliva-soaked rope of pure flesh, waving around as if it was alive. It then snapped back to where it belonged, flinging globules of spit through the air. The eyelids of its twisted owner flew open, Drake's once-emerald irises now a husky crimson.

He was a vampire, he was wild, and he was very famished…

* * *

A distressed female Scarlet Macaw in a certain hollow said to her mate, "Do you think our son made it to his hollow? What if… what if one of _them_ tracked him down?"

The male snuggled closer to her in the nest and swaddled her with his wing.

"I'm sure he did, my darling. He's an intelligent macaw, he is. No need to worry."

"Oh, but Seth, I can't help _but_ worry. I am a mother; it is my job to fret about the well-being of my only child."

He pecked her on the cheek.

"Cast away your discomfort and sleep, Breanne. We can check on him the moment we wake tomorrow."

"I suppose you're right. But-"

The whooshing of beating wings resounded from beyond their home, Breanne clicking her beak shut.

"Something's coming. It may very well be Drake," Seth whispered.

A few tense moments later, a bird straight from a sorcerer's bestiary touched down inside the hollow and blocked the exit.

"Hello, _Mother._ Hello, _Father._ Remember me?" he spat malevolently.

"Drake! What happened… to you? Your… your feathers! Your eyes!"

"Oh heavens no… it can't… be true. Seth… our son… is a… vampire!"

"Indeed I am, Mother. And can you guess who I am going to gorge myself on first?"

His extensive tongue darted out into the open air and flailed around madly.

"My parents!"

He lunged directly for them.

A duo of shrill screams echoed throughout the night as carnage was wreaked in the hollow.

Vampires within earshot recognized the high-pitched din and grinned, imagining in their minds the morbidly-gratifying scene. Some vampire, somewhere, was feeding on a pair of helpless souls, and two more of their diabolical kind were minutes away from being born...

* * *

"So much raw energy festering in our systems and we have nothing to spend it on, my dear Ravenna. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can occupy ourselves?"

"Not at the moment, Ash. But I shall try to think of some," she countered, kicking the flaccid carcass of a female Military Macaw she had recently drained out of the hollow.

She craned her head around and watched as Ash preened himself, his onyx quills reflecting the moonbeams like a mirror. Indirectly sensing what she was doing, he paused in his work and affected a flat expression.

"Must you inspect me so intently, Ravenna? You know how nervous I get."

"My apologies. But I cannot keep my eyes off such a suave male as yourself, dear."

He cracked a smile at the compliment and went back to preening his lower back feathers.

As she examined him, she felt a faint urge routinely tug at her mentality. It concerned a desire that was as ingrained into her being as the incentive to drink. It could lead to a chain of events that were no less rewarding than a dose of fresh blood, if she dissolved her inhibitions.

The very act her subconscious was persuading her to perform with Ash was one she had _not_ performed for many moons. She harbored a vague memory of when she and Ash consummated their relationship, but the lucid sensations she felt so long ago were withered and bland.

She had nothing to lose and everything to gain if she relived that memory, and she knew exactly how to sway Ash into complying with her offer. Clearing her throat, she sauntered over to him and tapped his skull with her wing.

"Ash, may I have your attention?"

He jerked his head around and held her gaze.

"What is it, my lovely mate?"

"There is _one_ way we may busy ourselves tonight. I am very much adamant about putting it into action. Would you consider it?"

"It depends on what _it_ is. Enlighten me as to what you have in mind."

"I wish for you to kiss me and bite me and taste me passionately, to partake in a frivolous session of foreplay, if you will. And in return, I shall drive you mad with ecstasy…"

She flicked out her tongue and looped it around his neck like a collar, soaking it with drool and sending a shudder down his spine.

She disengaged it as he mumbled, "Ravenna, you have tempted me in the extreme, and I cannot refuse. I want to touch you and squeeze you and pleasure you… may I have your permission to stimulate you in any way I see fit?"

"You may, handsome Ash. But may I have the honor to initiate this sexual escapade of ours?"

"By all means, lust-worthy Ravenna."

He seized her with his wings and compressed their chests together.

"I'm waiting…" he declared furtively.

She liberated her tongue and waxed it all over his neck, smearing his feathers with congealed drool. Numerous jolts of electricity zapped his brain in response to the glorious fondling, and he moved his right foot in reverse to brace himself.

"Ravenna… more… I want more. You must… cut me… all over…"

"As you wish, my dear. I will not hold back, so be warned…"

She grazed the lower area of his throat and split his skin, and he jerked as he gripped her tighter. He did not bleed, as he was not exactly alive in the normal sense and had no heartbeat. She lacerated the back and sides of his neck as well, leaving four secretive cuts beneath his coat.

"It hurts… it hurts… so good. Do not stop… please…" he grunted, staggering back until he ran into the wall of the hollow with Ravenna still caged by his wings.

He collapsed into a sitting position, and she proceeded to lay on him and attack his chest. A short nick here, a long one there, and a pinching bite somewhere else. He hissed and squawked as the painfully erotic feelings ganged up on his brain, every fiery sting followed by a lingering ache that left him dying for more.

By the time she was done, she had broken his skin over two dozen times and stained each one with globs of saliva. He gazed passionately at her, his vivid eyes overrun with delirium and obsession.

"Shall we switch, Ash, so that you may repay the debt I have accumulated?"

"Not… yet… my fallen angel. Fulfill… my last request… and then… we shall…"

"And what would that be?"

"Bury… your tongue… inside me. And I… do not mean… insert it… into… my beak…"

Her eyes widened in realization, and then narrowed to slits of shameless sexual acceptance.

"You truly want me to exhilarate you so intimately?"

"Yes… I swear I do… on the holiness… of the night…"

She dipped her head in acknowledgement, her oral snake wriggling out and resting above his motionless heart. She then raked it down towards his tail leisurely until the texture morphed from fuzzy to smooth.

She retreated one step away to allow her easier access and relieve the strain on her neck. His private opening was immediately under her tongue, it serving no other purpose besides being a conduit to the inside of his body.

It was but the unguarded gate that she would exploit, stuffing him with her gustatory organ and driving him rabid with carnal bliss. She lowered her head until her beak met his feathers, easing the tip into him.

He moaned luxuriously as she penetrated him, advancing all eight inches of it as far up the path as it could go. Groans and snorts gushed forth from his beak as draconic pleasure wracked him from head to tail, his muscles quaking uncontrollably.

After a slight pause, she wriggled her tongue for two clipped seconds. His back arched and he tensed up like a spring, a wheeze fleeing his beak as he dropped back down.

"In the name… of Raven… and Victoria… that felt… so… mind-blowing. Do it… again…"

She complied, prompting another intense reaction from him.

"Ravenna… you're… killing me. I feel as if… I want… to explode…"

Being as she was denied the ability to speak, she merely held his delirious gaze and prolonged the oral sex.

After two more quivers of her tongue, Ash rendered her head immobile by pressing his wing down upon it.

After yet another three, she could feel his muscles contracting so vigorously she thought they might rupture.

After a final three, Ash suffered an ungodly orgasm, an unchaining of sexual tension so sudden that he literally lost consciousness when it was over.

No stranger to these consequences, Ravenna extricated her oral organ and reclined on top of his exhausted form. He recuperated in death-like silence for twenty minutes, not uttering one word or opening his eyes.

But when his refractory period was cut off, he reabsorbed his consciousness and shuddered beneath her.

Their eyes locked with magical resilience, and he whispered, "Ravenna, you treated me to a variety of pleasure fit for a god… fit for Raven himself. Never have I felt so close to you, so appreciative of you. I… I love you, and I always shall, until the end of time…"

"Oh Ash… I love you too. We have the magic of this realm to thank for bonding us to each other. There is no one more suited to be my mate than you... and I doubt that our ancestors disagree…"

He lifted a wing up and stroked her luminous lavender cheek.

"Affirm your affection for me with a kiss, my dear Ravenna…"

"As you wish, my admirable Ash…"

They locked their beaks together and fused their separate tongues into one, supplementing the afterglow with a dash of lazy gratification.

* * *

Let us end the tale of our vampire couple here, lest the length of it go beyond what is proper for a short story.

Yet another reason we shall leave Ash and Ravenna behind as they swim in a lake of adoration is equally self-explanatory: There is little significance of any kind left for I, the author, to add, and little for you, my diligent readers, to read and comprehend.

They are two beings who loved each other and were meant to thrive as a pair until the end of Earth itself.

Were they cruel and unfeeling when it came to dispatching their victims? Yes, but a vampire who _wasn't_ was as rare as a diamond in the dirt.

Were they eccentric in their mannerisms and willing to show affection, despite their insidious natures? Yes, but evil cannot exist without good to balance it out, living creatures such as them included.

So there you have it, faithful readers of the species _Homo sapiens_, a synopsis of the events taking place in a plane where fantasy and magic abound. This may be pure fiction, but the characters, settings, and societies can be as real and believable as you will them to be.

But, truth be told, in some alternate universe we may never possess the technology to enter, vampires may indeed be actual entities with minds, bodies, and souls however dark, lurking in gloomy rain-forests under a thin crescent moon.

* * *

**Different, huh? Are you creeped out? Let me know!**

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	2. Is This Goodbye?

**Is This Goodbye?**

"Mmm, it tasted like chicken," Blu said as he licked his claws one by one and smacked his beak.

Jewel slapped him playfully on the shoulder and replied, "Oh come on Blu, that makes no sense. You ate a mango, not a chicken."

Blu set his damp foot upon the ground and answered, "That's the joke, honey bun. Why aren't you laughing?"

She let loose a giggle, but Blu detected that it was forced instead of genuine.

"Ha ha, nice try, Jewel. I guess I should work on my jokes some more."

She sighed nonchalantly and said, "Eh, your choice, handsome."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I see what you're getting at. Don't think I will forget this day."

She turned her head partly away and stared at him with one penetrating teal iris.

"Oh? Is that a threat, mister?"

Intimidated by her glare and the bite in her words, he shrunk back a bit.

"He he, nevermind."

One half of a sly grin manifested on her beak, and she gave a brief snort of victory. After a few seconds of silence, Blu sandwiched one of her wings between both of his and gave it a gentle kiss.

"Have I told you yet?"

"Told me what, handsome?" she said sensually.

"That I love you so very much, and that I would do anything for you. I doubt no other female would have opened up her heart for me the way you did, Spix's Macaw or not. How can I not adore to pieces a stunning creature like you who gave me someone to hold, cherish, and just enjoy being with every single second?"

Jewel's soul bubbled with feelings of warmth and belonging in the wake of his words, and she brought her eyes level with his. She bathed herself in the creamy chocolate seas that were his irises, instinctual tears brimming in her eyes.

"Oh Blu… you're gonna make me cry… and that is not how I want… to start this day off…"

He took his longest primary and wiped the beads of fluid away, and then drew her head in for a passionate beak-lock. His wing massaged her distended belly as they lost themselves in the moment, both Blu and Jewel enthralled by the taste of their lovers.

Their beak lock ended long after they were satisfied, and Blu's wing came to a halt on her egg-filled midsection.

"Just like the kiss you gave me as we fell towards the ocean…" Blu whispered, his eyes closed in bliss.

"Yeah… yours was exactly the same…"

He slowly separated his eyelids and gazed down at her.

"Don't you wish that we would fall in love all the time, my dear Jewel?"

"I do..."

Blu squeezed their bodies closer together so that their chests were touching and their beaks were less than an inch apart.

"Then who's to say we can't start right now?"

He flooded her with his love once more via a deep, intense kiss, and she returned the favor in full. Time itself slowed to a crawl as they innocently pleasured each other, their brains pulsing with electricity and their spirits churning with infatuation.

On and on and on they kissed, changing tactics to prolong the affectionate intertwining of their tongues and glorious rubbing of their plumage. It was perhaps a new record for the couple, the juicy ritual lasting for an entire thirty seconds before their physical limits of endurance forced them to call it off.

Reveling in the afterglow and harboring shreds of lust, they sought to relax their frenzied metabolisms before moving on with their agenda. When their thrumming hearts had adopted a less vigorous pace and their breathing had become regular once more, they cuddled beneath the nearby mango tree.

Jewel used her deliciously spongy and warm mate as a pillow, orienting herself so that her back was supported by his chest, the trunk of the tree supporting him in turn. He crossed his elegant wings over her belly, her twin eggs shifting around in response to his firm-but-careful grip.

The notion that he was a practically a father twisted his heart into vibrant knots, the sheer jubilance that erupted like an internal fountain potent enough to bring tears to _his_ eyes this time around.

How amazing it felt to know that the female before him had offered her body to him as a sign of her undying love, that he was worthy enough to help create the offspring they so desired.

How touching it was to know that the capsules maturing inside her would one day hatch, leading to the emergence of their children and the true beginning of their family.

It was these emotions that challenged Blu's composure and caused him to weep and sniffle. Jewel subsequently felt his tears plop onto her head and slide down her neck, the sensation as heartwarming as it was revealing.

"Blu, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Nothing is wrong… honey bun. I'm… I'm just… so happy… that you chose me… as your mate. You… and our children… will be all… I will ever want… and need. I… I swear to the heavens and beyond… that I love you… Jewel…"

She nuzzled her head into his neck lovingly.

"I love you too, Blu. You're the perfect one for me, and no one will ever make me feel any different."

Jewel craned her head back in time to see Blu nod, a shaky smile plastered to his beak.

"I… I want to talk a walk… though the jungle… Jewel… with you by my side. If I don't… distract myself… I think I am… gonna breakdown…"

"Oh Blu, please don't fight yourself. If you want to let it out, go ahead. Don't hold back your emotions, set them free."

"I appreciate… your consideration… but… like you said earlier… I don't… want to start off… the day… with a tear-fest…"

"Are you sure, my handsome mate?"

"Mmm hmm," he whimpered through a clamped beak.

She pecked him directly beneath his beak and stood up, helping him to his feet and thoroughly drying his soggy, bloodshot eyes. She cupped his face with her wings and gazed into his eyes for a few moments, making sure not one more drop of liquid emotion would emerge.

When she was certain he had calmed down, she hopped over to his left side and placed a wing upon his back.

"Come, Blu, we'll walk together."

Blu straightened his posture and cleared his throat, and so they trotted off at a lethargic pace.

If only Blu had looked behind him two seconds later, he would have noticed they were both being spied on from within the bushes by a reptile… the most dangerous reptile in all of Rio.

They were totally oblivious to its presence, their backs to it and tempting the animal to claim his first meal of the day. Tasting their combined scents with a flick of its tongue and deeming them scrumptious, fit morsels, it tensed up its muscles and opened its mouth wide.

And then… it burst from the bushes with an evil hiss.

Jewel was knocked away from Blu by a harsh blow to her back, releasing a scream of shock. She barrel-rolled a fair amount of feet away, coming to a stop belly up. She scrambled to get to her feet and locate the cause of the impact, but she was instantly paralyzed when her aggressor slithered up to her.

She stared on in horror as the black-and-brown-patterned Bushmaster reared up, looming over her in a show of utter dominance. Venom dripped from its fangs, a long, low hiss escaping from its fleshy pink mouth.

Jewel's mind broke down as she realized she and her children were going to die right then and there, and she inhaled what she thought was her sweet, final breath. The snake lunged, and Jewel's eyes slammed shut as she awaited her torture and death at the hands of the Bushmaster.

"NO! STOP!"

The deafening yell preceded a rush of air, and Jewel did not feel the burn of the fangs stabbing into her chest. The next thing she noticed was Blu planted in front of her, his feathers fluffed out and his wings spread wide.

The snake's snout was but an inch away from Blu's beak, its bright emerald eyes gleaming in anger and surprise about having its meal spoiled. The male's eyes were doused with what the Bushmaster thought were tears of hopelessness and desperation.

The Bushmaster retracted his head and flicked his tongue out, feeling dishonored at having been challenged by the pathetic macaw.

"Blu… you… you saved me…"

The male nodded rapidly in agreement, but did not change his defensive stance.

"You... how dare you interrupt my breakfassst. I ssshall not hesssitate to kill you too unlesss you allow me to feassst on her!"

The snake hissed menacingly, causing Blu to flinch and gulp down a lump of dread.

"I… I can't do that. I won't let you take her away from me!"

"What? Give me one sssolid reasssson why, foolisssh bird!"

"She's pregnant… with our children. Kill her… and you will kill them as well… and you have no right to commit that kind of murder."

The reptile cocked its head.

"Isss that ssso? I have the right to ssslaughter and consssume any animal I choossse! If you do not ssstep assside, I will plunge my fangsss deep into your throat and make you wisssh you died asss a chick!"

Blu wavered and fell to his knees, a pleading expression painted upon his tragic face.

"Please… I beg you… don't do this… to her. She is a mother…" he squawked, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"If it will… convince you to spare her… eat me… instead. I would rather die… than to see… my family perish. Please… accept my sacrifice… and let her… go free…"

"Blu! WHAT are you DOING?! You can't be SERIOUS!"

The sobbing mass of feathers hung his head.

"There's no… way out… Jewel. I'm sorry… but I have to… give my life… in exchange for yours… and theirs. Otherwise… all I know and love… will be taken away from me. And that… is a fate… worse than death…"

"Blu… no… you can't… I need you… they need you…" the female muttered, her voice cracking.

"But they… need _you_ more. I love you… and I… I am giving my life… to save… you all…"

"But Blu…"

The defeated, broken macaw raised his head and met the snake's hungry gaze, no other words spewing from his beak. Shooting his tongue in and out, the Bushmaster deeply contemplated the trade.

They were both nearly the same size, and would offer basically the same amount of flesh. But he knew from experience that males usually held more muscle mass than the females, regardless of species or body size.

Furthermore, underdeveloped eggs would only fill his stomach with their nasty secretions and would most likely cause him to regurgitate spontaneously. And he would rather settle for an unplanned victim than risk such a digestive disaster.

The reasons to dine on the male thus took precedence, and he made up his decision with a sharp hiss.

"Very well, bird. You have ssscratched my ssscalesss. I accept your sssacrifice. You are the firssst male to have done thisss for hisss mate, and you will most likely be the lassst. Is there anything elssse you would like to sssay before I execute you?"

Rising to his feet and turning halfway around, Blu lifted his mate up and gave her a tight hug.

"Jewel… I guess… this is goodbye. Never forget… that I love you… and always will… even if… I'm gone. All good things… must come to an end. If only… my end… came in the distant future..."

"Blu… I can't… survive… without you…"

"Yes… you will. You'll have… our children… to keep you company. Promise me… you'll be strong for them…"

"Blu… I… I promise…"

"Keep me… in your heart… and teach them… to do… the same. Everything… will be alright. We'll meet again… someday…"

Blu shared a farewell kiss with her and backed away, the shadow of the serpent falling over him.

He craned his head back and ordered, "Do it. I don't want… to suffer… any longer. Send me… to an… honorable doom…"

"Asss you wisssh. I would feel sssory for you and your mate, but thisss isss how nature operatesss. Sssome perish ssso that othersss may thrive, and that is how it ssshall alwaysss be…"

The snake coiled partly up behind Blu, now able to properly position himself for the lethal bite. He rotated his head ninety degrees and extended his scaly upper body, caging Blu's neck inside his soggy, hot mouth.

The snake parted his jaws as wide as possible so that they would inflict maximum force when he snapped them shut.

"Blu… I love you…" Jewel moaned, shivering from head to tail.

"I love you too. I'll miss you… and I'll… I'll be- urgh!"

The Bushmaster contracted his jaw muscles and closed his vice-like mouth in a split second, silencing Blu once and for all. The two rows of teeth and the pair of great needles inside the snake's oral cavity buried themselves into Blu's skin, the former puncturing blood vessels and the latter squirting out jets of venom.

Blu stood there in a stupor, rivulets of blood oozing from the multiple wounds and zig-zagging down his chest and stomach. And then the ultra-potent venom ravaged his system. It began to dissolve his internal tissues and cause even more hemorrhaging, the pain searing his mind with its unfathomable power.

His wings darted up to the Bushmaster's jaws as a last ditch preservation effort, struggling in vain to pry them off. Blu began to gag on the blood drowning his Swiss-cheese airway, vomiting large amounts of it out with every violent cough.

His wings fell limp shortly after, and his body did the same.

The serpent took heed of the dying macaw and gripped even tighter on his prey, uncoiling neatly. Blu's eyes rolled back in his head as his life force seeped out of him, his soul clamoring to escape. He was dragged along as the snake slithered away, heading for the dense undergrowth in which to eat in peace.

Jewel's head began to swim as her fading mate was hauled away, a smear of blood upon the jungle floor marking his path in his final moments of life. He vanished into the foliage five seconds later, his navy tail the last part of him she saw slip out of her line of sight.

The remainder of the serpent trailed swiftly behind, and then he, too, disappeared.

Honorable or not, her mate and the father of her chicks was gone, and would never return. Her heart and soul withered away in the face of her irredeemable loss, and the fibers that held her very being together were shredded into pieces.

She lost all sense of time and space, uttering one fragmented word before the blooming darkness suffocated her: "Blu…"

Knowing she would never be the same and would never recover, Jewel hurled herself into the gloom of her shattered soul. She passed out right where she stood, falling flat on her face and ceasing to move as the daylight left her behind, in all her grief and loneliness.

* * *

**Darn. Sorry Blu. Please don't hate me.**

**But it's okay. You'll be just fine in the next chapter. ;)**

**(\ (\ ****/) /)**

**I**

**I**

**I**

**V**


	3. Among The Stars

**Among The Stars**

It was the year 2045, a time when the various nations and collections of animals on Earth were thriving amidst bursts of scientific advancements and monumental leaps in the quality of life. A prominent example of the need of Earth's creatures to push the boundaries of what they could construct drifted 250 miles above the surface of the Blue Marble.

It was a simple-yet-complex space station officially dubbed the Centurion, a massive design composed of various durable alloys to protect it – and its inhabitants – from the hostile environment of space in which it resided.

Two identical circular rings aligned horizontally, each with a diameter of two miles, were stacked on top of one another, the gap between them precisely one-tenth of a mile. A vertical cylinder was situated in their centers, a quarter-mile tall tube that served as the Centurion's energy source, data gathering facility and command module all in one.

Eight bracing spokes projected from it, four for each ring, stabilizing them and allowing its personnel to travel back and forth between the core and the living quarters. It maintained artificial gravity akin to that of Earth by spinning on its axis like a top, the rotational rate carefully monitored and adjusted.

The entire outer surface of the core, as well as the upper surfaces of the spokes and rings were coated with high-efficiency solar panels, converting ninety-five percent of the intense sunlight that struck them into pure, clean electricity used to keep the station alive.

The flat bottom of the core housed a docking station and supply hangars, so that ships carrying tools, food items, replacement equipment, and staff could ferry them from Earth whenever necessary.

The flat upper surface of the core conversely wielded communication satellites aimed towards the planet, as well as instruments that carried out perpetual surveillance of weather and debris in the vicinity.

Overpowered solar flares and stray space rocks posed dire threats to the Centurion, and so the instruments were there to feed endless streams of information to the skilled scientists who could interpret it and take precautionary measures if the need arose.

But in spite of the lurking potential for absolute disaster, life aboard the Centurion – the stunning feat of engineering and aerospace manufacturing it was destined to be – was peaceful and attractive in its own right. One felt a sense of wonder and humility when he or she gazed out of the daunting observation deck windows and saw the majestic Earth sitting far below their feet, some continents bathed in light and others cloaked in shadow.

At first glance, one might think that to be allowed onboard the Centurion and witness these sorts of spectacles was an opportunity provided to the wealthy and denied to the poor.

But that was not the case.

The fee to hop into a passenger cruiser and be taken to the gleaming hulk was minimal, costing a mere 1000 dollars in currency. Even for the lowest-class workers, it amounted to no more than a month's worth of wages, the time needed to obtain that amount only decreasing the further up the social ladder one climbed.

Perhaps a more rigid restriction was the population cap, a rule put in place to ensure safety, prevent overcrowding, and allow an enriching vacation for each and every visitor. There was also a limit to how long guests were permitted to stay as a tie-in to the previous rule, one week being the maximum.

That being said, the number of beings present fluctuated week by week, and it was generally not difficult for those who wished to embark on the trip to reserve a spot.

To claim a _permanent_ place was a different matter entirely, as only the very rich, entitled researchers, and officers of the D.S.S.D. possessed that luxury.

Combined, the cash from the transients and the individuals with impressive sums of money created a huge pool of funds that could be tapped for whatever improvement the Centurion needed.

And to be fair, nothing in that futuristic world was free of charge.

Quoting a saying from the turn of the century, "someone had to bring home the bacon." But of course, in this day and age, it was many, many someones who filled that role.

Before we focus on the main protagonist of the story, it would only benefit to discuss who exactly was in charge of overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Centurion.

No matter his or her rank, each one was employed and affirmed by the D.S.S.D., an acronym for the "Department of Solar System Development." Its offices were spread far and wide across the Blue Planet, each nation selecting a few good men and women to form the next generation of officers who would maintain order on the orbiting satellite.

Vacancies opened up – albeit infrequently – due to veteran officers who had made the decision to retire and head home, and also due to those who had been granted leaves of absence to visit their families or simply take a break from the rigors of their line of work.

But most of them held no qualms and remained in space for years at a time, adjusting to their unorthodox homes while simultaneously becoming enamored with their honorable duties – and for a select few, infatuated with members of the opposite sex who happened to catch their eyes.

As it was with all hierarchies based on power and responsibility, those low in rank were the most plentiful, each level comprising fewer and fewer individuals until the pinnacle was reached. And in reference to the Centurion, the top dog, so to speak, was a vibrantly-colored macaw by the name of Theodore Scott.

His formal title was "Commander," and that is how he was addressed by his subordinates nearly all the time. But they did poke fun at him every now and then by calling him "Blu," which was an innocent mockery of the hue of his deep navy feathers.

It was considered a breach of protocol to refer to him by a name other than his title, but he didn't mind the nickname one bit.

A shy, intelligent male, Theodore came from ordinary beginnings, being the firstborn son of a middle-class family of landowners/farmers. But his courage in the face of challenges and the oversized brain in his skull helped him immensely in reaching his dream of becoming a technology developer for the D.S.S.D.

At the young age of eight he was already a respected member of the science-thirsty birds working in the Centurion's labs, experimenting to try and improve the materials used to shield electronics from radiation. He made few enemies and many friends in the years that followed, a charming macaw to be around despite his introverted nature.

At age thirteen, he succeeded in his goal and became known as the child prodigy of the decade, though he would not have even come close without the aid of his loyal peers. In his wings he jointly held the power to change the world of future aerospace exploits, and was offered large sums of currency by various big-name companies who wanted nothing more than to market the product and assimilate him into their workforce.

But he was simply not built to enjoy such a trying, high-society life.

He was content with having made his mark on the world and becoming the pride and joy of his parents' lives, and preferred to retreat into a less-publicized life. He legally transferred the blueprints and rights of his groundbreaking alloy to the D.S.S.D., any future business inquiries now obligated to be funneled to them.

In place of his justified sacrifice, he petitioned to the Department to become the head technician and lead his fellow companions, believing that his merits guaranteed it would be accepted. It was, of course, but the Department also strongly supported him becoming the Commander of the space station as a whole.

No one thought badly about him, everyone respected him, and many of the females of his species swooned over him. His salary would be generous in comparison, and the job could perhaps bring him out of his shell by a modest amount.

He was no stranger to responsibility, but he felt that the position of Commander would be too big a stretch. On the flipside, he imagined every non-visitor soul onboard the station to be his relative in some form or another and harbored a desire to remain in their company. His internal battle lasted for a few days, his mind torn by his indecision.

But in the end, he acknowledged the Department's wishes instead of his own.

In a compelling sacrifice of his own, the current Commander, a falcon by the name of Travis Mathews, stepped down so that Theodore could be elevated. Travis had been planning to relinquish his position that same year anyhow, so it was no big deal to him.

As he himself put it during the swearing-in ceremony of Theodore, "Better for this healthy, determined bird gain control of Centurion than for me, the ragged old bird that I am, to stay here. My feathers are gray and my body is tired, and who am I to stop this young fellow from living life how he wants to live it?"

Theodore could not thank him enough, and Travis assured him that he would keep in touch in the months to come. Easing into the somewhat foreign occupation was hard at first, but Theodore never let it get him down.

He had never failed to perform in the past, even when subjected to significant pressure, and he wasn't going to start now. In the wake of his acclimation period, he fit right in and proved himself to be a Commander that even Travis admired.

When those close to him were asked by tourists in passing about what it was like to know him personally, words of praise and positive remarks constituted the replies. He was internationally recognized as a role model, an ordinary macaw who reached extraordinary heights through never giving up and chasing his dreams.

His first three years had their ups and downs, but no profession was without its high points and low points. He did dream often about his family and did occasionally feel very homesick, but July was the month in which he was granted a four week pardon and subsequently rocketed back down to reunite with them.

But perhaps the crowning moment of his blossoming career was when he crossed paths with that special someone, the macaw who would one day be the light of his life.

Jewel was her name, and let it be known that she was a dazzling beauty, the product of highly favorable genetics. They had met by pure chance on the observation deck of the Centurion's upper ring, Theodore striking up a conversation with her _and_ her parents.

They were all equally thrilled to meet him face-to-face, though Jewel's enthusiasm was tempered by her cautious attitude and her ability to discern when she was being flirted with. After escorting them on a thorough tour of the metal palace and seeing them off as they went on their way, Theodore went to sleep that night with a strange, bubbly sensation in his heart.

It was a feeling that was deeply alien to him, a strain of affection that was unlike the kind he received from his mother and father. He was inexplicably drawn to her, though he could not say why, and slowly began to realize that he was afflicted with the first stages of true love.

No wonder he was depressed when their time came to depart the station, though he masked his negativity to avoid arousing suspicion and maintain his aura of steadfastness. But as he watched the cruiser containing them speed away and flare up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere a minute later, he vowed that he would gradually make known his feelings to the glorious Jewel.

He was motivated to discover if she felt any inklings of attraction in return, but he could not ignore that fact that their socioeconomic statuses were leagues apart. As often as he could, he sent letters to her in an effort to gain a better appreciation for who she was and how she ticked.

His heart fluttered when she wrote back to him, though her first batch of messages did not mention anything remotely romantic.

He learned that her parents were clothing store owners with above-average incomes, being classified in the upper-middle echelon based on their net cash flow. She was in a gymnastics school and hoped to improve her flying skills and become an athlete, but was also interested in developing her own brand of fashion items.

She was eighteen, merely one year older than him, and Theodore wondered why she had not been obsessed over and courted by some other Spix's Macaw. As a result, he was incredibly reluctant to profess his admiration towards her out of fear that she would reject him and cut all ties due to being offended.

What other reason could she have for being single all her life other than she was independent and wanted nothing to do with hormonal, tail-hungry males?

He did not categorize himself as such, being honestly and tenderly attracted to her, but she might very well stereotype him. Not only that, but their styles of living were at opposite ends of the spectrum. The goals she had dedicated herself to fulfilling were of a personal type, and perhaps he would only be seen as a distraction if he sought to be more than a friend to her.

When his fourth July break loomed, he debated constantly whether he should stop by their abode and confess his hidden feelings for her in an all-or-nothing event. He made up his mind to do just that as he dismounted the cruiser and made his way through the spaceport on the outskirts of his family's hometown.

Halfway through his stay on Earth, he tracked down the address he had memorized from her letters. As it turned out, she lived in the bustling metropolis of Spire-Haven, the capitol city of the state of Albion. It was but a three-hour jet flight away, nothing but a 100 dollar ticket standing in his way.

His parents forked over the necessary cash and urged him to pursue her, if it was what he truly wanted.

After spending a sleepless night brooding over whether or not to obey his heart, he purchased the ticket the very next day. His spirit was in a tumult when he arrived on their doorstep and knocked to gain entry.

Jewel's parents erupted with hospitality upon recognizing him, and even their luscious daughter couldn't help but smile and hug him in a cheerful manner. The last fourteen days of his reprieve were spent with them, and he could not thank them enough for their overwhelming kindness.

Three days before he would be ordered back into space, he steeled his will and spilled his guts in the middle of a scrumptious dinner. He admitted that he liked her and that he desired to form a more serious friendship than the one they shared then.

But he also admitted that it was fine if she declined, as they were such vastly different individuals that it would be near impossible to go steady. They were all three moved to near tears by his short speech, as was Theodore himself when Jewel found his intentions to be bold and tempting.

She agreed, owning up to him and her parents alike that he had been on her mind for quite some time.

She could sense that there was something special about him, and that she felt a twitching of her stomach when she thought about him at random intervals. She saw no harm in opting for a "test run," and only time would tell if they were truly meant to be together.

After all, destiny would have the final say as to whether they would break up or get married at an appropriate time in the future.

Destiny happened to oblige this particular couple of love-struck teenagers and glue them more and more strongly to one another.

They had their share of squabbles and separations in the first twelve months, but they could not stay angry at each other or be apart for long. He essentially lived a double life for those 365 days, keeping his ever-intensifying interactions and sense of security with Jewel closely guarded secrets.

No one suspected he was in such a profound romance with a random female, which infected him with guilt. But he knew that his subordinates and confidantes and staff would go crazy with joy and gratification when he broke the news.

Needless to say, young love transformed into full-fledged love, and Theodore popped the question to Jewel in their second year as a couple in the fitting month of July. And so it was that they became engaged, the bombshell announcement sending ripples of hysteria and elation through the populace that knew the macaws.

Their engagement was juicy and sudden enough to be instantly televised on national news, a flurry of publicity and interviews being directed towards Theodore and Jewel like archers' arrows. The unprecedented attention they were buried under was still potent when they had their wedding, the groom dressed in his handsome Commander's uniform and the bride boasting a mouthwatering dress.

The beak-lock they shared after exchanging their vows was the kiss that rocked the globe with all the fortitude of an asteroid.

It was but one of their many kisses thus far, but was without a doubt the most genuine and concrete. They postponed the intimate consummation of their marriage, however, craving to relish in the bliss of their commitment without any offspring to tie them down… for the moment, at least.

Jewel earned her own private quarters on the Centurion in a show of supreme altruism by the Department, repaying Theodore for his years of fruitful service. The theory that "opposites attract" couldn't have been more credible, Jewel and Theodore's case cold, hard evidence that it was, however, clearly more than just a theory.

* * *

Here is where we will switch gears and go in-depth, examining a day in the lives of the macaw couple.

It is now that we will see firsthand the unbreakable bond that binds them and put into practice all we have learned in regards to why they adore each other unconditionally. Take a pause to prepare yourselves, readers, for the most sentimental chunk of their romance is on the horizon.

* * *

21:59:10… 21:59:11… 21:59:12…

I watched the clock count the seconds away, each tick bringing me closer to 2200 hours and the end of not only the Centurion's day, but the conclusion of my shift. For the past twelve hours I had been sitting in the Commander's chair, my lower back having developed a cramp despite the soft, cushiony material supporting me.

All told, I had left the chair a maximum of six times from the time I first sat down until now. And that number was higher than usual, as today _happened_ to be a good day.

21:59:18… 21:59:19… 21:59:20…

I was very drowsy and absolutely dying to fling myself onto my bed and fall asleep. Honestly, I am only a normal bird in the physical sense, and my stamina to keep awake only lasts so long.

No one could blame me for feeling this way, slumped over in my seat with my eyelids half-closed, staring at the translucent, touch-sensitive display before me.

21:59:30… 21:59:31… 21:59:32…

But perhaps one reason I hadn't dozed off two hours ago was because I was very stressed out.

For one thing, I was forced to step in earlier this afternoon and break up a conflict between Captain Randall and Corporal Lance. Had the vocal battle turned physical – which it _would_ have not one minute later – the Corporal would have fared badly versus the Captain, as the former was a kestrel and the latter an eagle.

And I simply would not stand for that kind of violence to occur and blood to be shed on _my_ space station.

I gave them a thorough verbal scolding about self-control and etiquette, and then assigned them to lowly tasks on either side of this command room. The burning desire to fight lasted in their eyes for an hour or so, and I could not tell if they were madder at each other, or at me for preventing them from tussling. In any case, the situation was dealt with, but their behavior was irritating.

Those two youngsters – compared to my age, of course – had much to learn.

21:59:42… 21:59:43… 21:59:44…

Another reason why my mind was in a tumult was because my July vacation was not set to begin for another two weeks, and I dearly missed my mother and father. I received word one week prior to today that I had a pair of newly-hatched siblings, a brother and a sister.

I was not there to witness them getting used to the world outside their eggs, and to have the milestones in their early development pass me by made my heart ache.

And lastly, a dear friend of mine, Colonel Tara Brooks – a rather pretty Scarlet Macaw, for those who are curious – was called down to Earth for a routine evaluation at around 1700 hours.

She did not say goodbye to me as she was accustomed to doing.

I assumed that she had simply forgotten to do so, as the evaluation had probably weighed heavily on her mind. I couldn't blame her, but I wished I had gotten the chance to speak with her before her departure.

21:59:58… 21:59:59… 22:00:00… 22:00:01…

"Ah… freedom…" I sighed, perking up as the numbers changed to ones I favored.

I danced my wingtips along the keys and sliders, initiating the power-down sequence for the Centurion's rings. The automated feminine voice pouring from the speakers mounted in the ceiling echoed, "Power-down will commence in five minutes. All residents please return to your living quarters. I repeat, power-down will commence in five minutes. All residents please return to your living quarters. Thank you for your cooperation, and have a nice night onboard the Centurion."

I drummed on the glowing panels some more, prepping the system to stop electricity flow to this room and close the observation visors all across the station. After all, it would be very hard for those on the outer walls of the rings to sleep with constant sunlight beaming in.

I dismounted my chair and stretched my wings, then bent over to cure the cramp in my lower back muscles. I then walked around the chair in the direction of the door, spying the slim Military Macaw known as Captain Sanders shutting down his work space.

I waddled past him and pulled my keycard from my shirt pocket, presenting it to the decoder mounted on the wall next to the door. As I waited for it to approve the keycard, I said, "Farewell, Gabriel. I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Likewise, Theodore. I bid you goodnight. Oh, and if you see that gorgeous wife of yours tonight, tell her I said hello."

I smiled at the compliment in reference to Jewel.

"I certainly will, Captain. And goodnight to you as well."

I noticed that the doors had not opened by this point, so I swiped the keycard again. The rectangular light shone a steady scarlet color. When it blinked off, I swiped it again.

It denied my keycard once more.

"Ugh, what is going on with it? Am I ever going to get out of here?" I grumbled to myself.

The fourth try was a failure, and my pulse began to speed up as I grew frustrated. The fifth try was a bust as well, and I threw the keycard against the carpeted ground, which did absolutely nothing to the plastic at all.

"Stupid machine! Why are you refusing to open the doors?! Are you reading my emotions and deliberately adding to my already present stress?!" I huffed and puffed, glaring daggers at the card-reading device as if I expected it to respond.

Gabriel sauntered up beside me and plucked the keycard off of the floor.

"Do you need some assistance, Commander Scott?"

"Yes, _please_, Gabriel. At this rate, nothing short of a miracle would have to happen in order for me to escape…" I fired back.

He studied my pass for one brief second and swiped it over the reader. A pleasing green light appeared, and the doors slid apart with a motorized hum.

"How… how did you do that?" I replied, stunned.

He smiled warmly at me and replied, "You were holding it upside-down, Commander."

I ran my wings down my face in humiliation and took the card, stashing it roughly in the pocket. I hobbled out the door and inhaled deeply, the fresh scents in the air doing little to combat my unease.

The doors shut behind me, and I felt a gentle pressure on my back.

"Is everything alright, Theodore? Have you and your wife had an argument?"

I faced him and answered, "No, she and I are fine. It's just that… more things than I expected have not gone my way today. I simply need some time to chase my troubles away…"

He patted my spine twice and replied softly, "I see. I won't keep you any longer then. I think a sound sleep will do wonders for you, Theo."

I instinctively smiled in return, nodding in understanding.

"Thank you for your concern, Gabriel. It makes me glad to know that there are still some compassionate souls left on this gray hulk of metal and wires."

"You are most welcome, Commander. Your wise words have empowered me as well, if you can believe it."

"I think I can, Captain."

I shook wings with him and exhaled the most positive sigh I had so far, standing up straighter.

"Let us part ways now, Gabriel. It would be detrimental to both of us to encroach upon our rest periods too much."

"Whatever you say, Theo. Until tomorrow, then."

"Until tomorrow."

He spun around and trotted away from me down the gently curved, dimly-lit corridor, his feet making a faint brushing sound as they ruffled the carpet fibers. I turned halfway around and went on my way, transitioning from walking to hopping to increase my speed.

After travelling along the silent, desolate hall for about twenty seconds, I came to the wide door that led to my "home," the words "Commander Scott's quarters. Absolutely no trespassing unless special permission has been granted" emblazoned on a plaque above it.

I swiped my keycard and was supremely thankful that the reader showed the green light on the first attempt. An instant later, the power-down went into effect, plunging the corridor into a haunting blackness. Slightly unnerved by the startling drop in light level, I limped tiredly into my room flicked on the pale yellow light.

I then tossed my keycard on the cluttered shelf projecting from the wall and examined myself in the mirror next to it.

None of my feathers were out of place, my plumage bearing a dull sheen that was indicative of good health. My longer-than-average tail was orderly and smooth, and the feathers behind my head were stout.

I realized that it was more than my outward appearance that defined me, but the way I looked now was certainly one reason why Jewel married me. I was by no means the most handsome macaw on the ship, but I was obviously suave enough to please my wife.

I left the mirror and plunked down on the edge of my oversized bed, my feet and tail hanging off the end of the blanket. I leaned to my left and grabbed the cup of water from my dresser, downing every last drop in the space of a few seconds.

I slapped the empty cup back down and smacked my beak, my thirst sufficiently quenched.

I then twisted my upper body and grabbed the electronic letter on my pillow, not recognizing it at first. I powered it up and watched as my mother's ornate writing materialized in the air, hovering a few inches above the projector surface.

I sniffed once and read the words carefully, line by line.

_Hello, Theodore, this is your mother. How are you, son? Busy as usual, I assume, but I hope you are feeling well. I want you to know that our family has grown by two, as the eggs I laid earlier this month have hatched. You now have a brother and a sister! Garrett named our daughter Emma, while I named our son Josiah. Oh how wonderful and cute and lovable they are, even though they are mostly naked. They are such delightful little creatures, and I sorely wish you were here to see them. But I know you are not due to leave the Centurion until the 1__st__ of July, so forgive my impatience. Please send me a reply as soon as you can, or I will lawlessly board the next cruiser and have a stern talk with you about manners! No no no, I won't do that. But in all honesty, I would like to know how you are doing. Oh, and how can I forget about my daughter-in-law? Be sure to provide me with an update on her situation too. _

_Until next time, _

_Love, Mother._

The letter had boosted my spirits the first time I had read it, but now, it rekindled the sense of longing that had been plaguing me all day. I turned off the letter and set it next to me, imagining myself in the living room of my parents' house, Josiah and Emma playing with my tail.

I was normally pleased with my career here, but this was another episode when nothing was superior to spending quality time with my loved ones down on _terra firma_. It may have been strange, but I was having trouble visualizing my parents in my head, a testament to the grueling separation from them I had undergone.

I let my wings droop at my sides and hung my head, staring at my feet as I rocked them back and forth. I was not sad or in danger of crying, I was merely downcast, craving prematurely an event that would not happen for another fourteen days.

But time changed its pace for no one, and so I had no choice but to live my life at normal speed.

Needless to say, I was startled by the chain of three knocks at my door, after which a voice I knew by heart spoke almost inaudibly.

"Theo, dear, it's me. May I come in?"

I heaved myself off the bed and trudged over to the door, grabbing my pass and presenting it to the reader. I turned and aimed my throw, chucking the plastic rectangle skillfully back onto the messy shelf.

When I turned back around, I saw my wife standing less than a foot away from me, wearing a fine satin dress dyed a deep shade of red, an inviting smile on her face. It was not exactly appropriate for her to be wandering about this late, but I was sure no one had seen her on the way from her bedroom to mine.

I stepped back to give her room to enter, and she did, just before the door sealed itself.

"Hello, my pretty Jewel. What brings you here?" I greeted, a hint of negativity in my tone.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to check up on you, sweetie."

"I'm glad you did, because I'm… not feeling well."

I went back over to my bed and assumed my former position, slumping like a puppet that had had its strings snipped. I may have been a reclusive macaw, but I would never hide my inner feelings and problems from her. She was my wife and deserved to know if anything was amiss with me.

She imitated me and sat down on my left, draping her wing over my back.

"What do you mean, Theo? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, I'm not sick. I'm depressed because one of my officers nearly got ripped to pieces, my good friend Tara left without saying goodbye, and I miss my family. Long story short, I'm not happy at all…"

She took to massaging my plumage up and down tenderly, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Theo, it'll be alright. Rough times don't last forever."

"Yeah…"

"And besides, I know one reason why you should be _very_ happy."

I shot her a curious, morose look.

"And what reason is that, Jewel?"

She leaned a bit closer and cooed, "You have me."

My heart fluttered in my chest, and through her words did I attain my first small victory over my sour mood.

"Honey… you always manage to say the right thing at the right moment…"

I returned the favor and kissed her cheek, my eyes shimmering.

"Feeling better_,_ Theo?"

"A little. Yes, a little," I replied sheepishly.

"Then we're already off to a good start."

"Maybe so. I thank you for your help, Jewel."

"No, you don't have to thank me, sweetie. I'm your wife, and it's my job to cheer you up whenever you're feeling down. Now, what do you say we take that uniform off of you so that your feathers can breathe?"

She scooted off the comforter and planted herself in front of me, reaching out with her wings to grab the sleeves of my shirt.

"Jewel, wait. Let me undo the button."

"Sure."

I craned my neck around and fiddled with the gold fastener halfway down the fabric, easing it out of the slit gently. My shirt loosened a bit, and Jewel tugged with just the right amount of force as I turned back to face her.

The rear of the shirt split down the middle, and the two halves slid off my limp wings with ease. She folded it neatly and placed it on the shelf, but what she did next totally caught me off guard.

My stomach churned and I gulped nervously as she reached for my shorts.

"Um… Jewel… I think… you should… leave them on. I… uh… would rather… sleep in them…"

She paused and rolled her eyes, a certain type of smile on her face that only made me more nervous.

"Don't talk nonsense, Theo. When I said 'uniform,' I meant shirt _and _shorts. It's not like I haven't seen _every_ part of your body before."

"But… but… honey… I-"

She rested her longest primary on my beak, shushing me.

"No buts, Theo. You should be flattered that I am doing this for you. Consider it preparation for when it's my turn..."

In a painfully slow maneuver, she slid them off my waist and legs, piling them on top of the other article of clothing on the shelf. I gulped again and felt the butterflies spring to life in my gut, fully aware that my… _intimate_ area was exposed to her.

"Jewel… this is… pretty close to… torture."

"Not to me, sweetie. You look handsome from head to tail… as does everything in between."

Her rich comment did away with some of my unrest, but not all of it.

"Are you ready, Theo?"

"Ready for what?" I asked shakily.

She turned her back to me and pinched the knotted string on the back of the dress with her beak. With three skillful tugs, the knot unraveled and the dress sagged by a small amount. She seductively stared at me with her right eye as she partially unfurled her wings.

"This…"

And then, without a sound, the dress flowed down her body and ended up on the floor in a haphazard mound.

The sight was so erotic my heart started hammering in my chest. A tingling sensation erupted all over me as my feathers puffed out own their own, especially the scruff on the back of my neck.

She was so gorgeous and sleek, her feathers flashing with a luster superior to mine. I raked my gaze from her neck to the tip of her tail, my perturbed condition vanishing and being replaced by one of awe.

"Jewel… wow… you're… an angel…"

"Thank you, sweetie. You enjoy seeing me naked, don't you?" she asked devilishly.

"I… I… yes…"

"I love the sound of that. Now I know how I can tempt you in the future."

She turned halfway and presented her sublime chest and stomach to me, coming so close that my feet brushed her belly and her passionate scent washed over me. She administered a playful shove to my chest, knocking me painlessly onto my back.

She then hopped onto the bed and reclined on my left side, nuzzling her luxurious plumage against me. She draped her wing over my chest and hugged me alluringly, kissing my neck for what seemed like an eternity.

I rolled my head in her direction and came face-to-face with her, losing myself in the warm oceans of paradise that were her teal eyes. I felt so touched and loved by her affection my heart nearly burst, a rush of sugary delight flooding my inner walls.

"Jewel… you're so enchanting… you're the best wife… in the world."

"And _you_ are the best _husband_ in the world, Theo. I didn't need to meet them all and compare, because I… met… _you_."

Her endearing words were too much, and I could not stop the jovial tears from pooling in my eyes.

"Jewel… now and forever… I want you to be mine. I want to hold you… keep you safe… and comfort you… until our last day together. And you know why? Because… because I love you with all my heart and soul, Jewel."

"I can say the exact same about my love for you, Theo. You're not just a very special macaw… you're _my_ very special macaw."

Our eyes drew shut as our beaks converged for a wet, passionate kiss, and she squeezed herself oh-so-tight against me. When it ended and we resorted to gazing dreamily at each other, she wiped my tears away and sighed heavenly.

"Theo?" she whispered.

"Yes, my dear Jewel?"

"Do you think… I'll be a good mother when we decide to have children?"

I didn't even have to contemplate the answer to such a question.

"I have complete faith that you'll be an excellent mother, honey. But why are you asking me this?"

She shifted to make herself more comfortable and cleared her throat.

"I've been dealing with an urge, Theo. My subconscious wants me to satisfy my body… by having sex with you. Something deep down wants me to take the next step in our relationship and become pregnant with our children. I know it's sudden, and I'm sorry if it upsets you…"

My pupils enlarged as I searched her eyes for any hint of trickery; there was none, and her bluntness came as sort of a shock.

"Jewel… I'm not upset. This is just… um… a bit jarring."

"I made up my mind that I would tell you today, because I want to know… what your opinion is. Are you willing to try for children with me?"

"Forgive me, Jewel, but I… I'm not ready for that level of commitment. I don't doubt _your_ abilities, I doubt _mine_. Me being a father sounds so… awkward and intimidating. I… I won't be able to handle the responsibility. Not yet."

She tilted her eyes down to look at her feet, as if my refusal had wounded her.

"That's fine, Theo," she mumbled. "It wouldn't be right for me to force you into doing something you don't want to. I have more respect for you than that."

Her words carried a reassuring tone, and my newborn dread was extinguished. She tilted her eyes back up and met my gaze, a faint smile manifesting on her beak.

"It's true that I want to feel what it's like to have sex with you, but I don't want to ruin our first time by using any sort of protection. When your heart tells you it's time, you let me know, and we'll seal our love. I want us to experience that passion without any regrets or fear. I want us to work together, so that it will be one of the happiest times in both our lives. And if we don't get the chance to start a family the first time, that's okay. You and I will keep trying until we do."

"Jewel… I don't know what to say. Part of me wants a family with you, but the other part doesn't. Maybe in the future, after I've had some time to prepare…"

"Don't rush yourself, sweetie. Take all the time you need. We have our whole lives ahead of us, after all."

"Okay, Jewel. I'm so glad… you're on my side. I'm so glad… you're not angry with me. It would break my heart if I ever made you feel bad."

"Theo, why would I be ever let myself get angry with you over something like this? You're my husband, not some lazy slave."

I frowned and averted my eyes in shame.

"I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't have said that. I-"

She jerked my beak towards hers and assaulted my senses with a marvelous kiss, an explosion of flavor going off as her tongue danced with mine. I melted like butter dropped onto a hot skillet, letting loose a muffled moan of pleasure. She broke off the kiss ten seconds later, a clipped smacking sound emanating from our beaks as they parted.

She said gingerly, "Don't apologize for thinking and acting the way you do, Theodore. Your rare, charming personality is why falling in love with you felt so right, and I don't want the macaw I said 'I do' to all those months ago to change. I want him to promise to always be himself…"

My soul bathed in the flourish of bliss from our kiss, I inhale a deep breath and let my heart do the talking.

"I promise, Jewel…"

She bestowed an airy peck on the spot between my eyes, and then dragged the pillows along for us. She propped my head up first and then did the same with hers, using her beak to pull one side of the blanket over us. I grabbed the other side and swaddled us with another layer of the insulating fabric, our combined body heat and aromas pooling inside our cocoon.

"I'm tired, handsome, and I want nothing more than to fall asleep in your wings…"

"Likewise, my sparkling Jewel."

In a moderately-loud voice I said, "Ceiling light intensity to 10%," and the bulb grew much darker, spewing out a very dim, calming yellow aura. I faced my wife and rested my head on the portion of her neck just below her beak.

"Goodnight, honey. See you in the morning…" I sighed, yawning as drowsiness cast its spell on me.

"Goodnight, handsome."

My eyelids grew too heavy to keep open as I submitted myself to sleep's embrace, my sense of consciousness leaking away as the seconds ticked by. Moments before I drifted away to worlds unknown, she cooed one final line to me and postponed my exit.

"Theo… I love you. And I always will…"

"I love you too. You're my jewel among the stars, and I will never let you go…"

She molded her body to mine, our bellies rubbing and our chests touching as we breathed. I could feel her heart beating through my skin in a tranquil rhythm, and it goes without saying that she could feel mine as well.

And so it was that we lulled each other to sleep in our chamber of love and togetherness, setting our minds free like a pair of azure balloons on a summer breeze.

* * *

**Toss me a review? *Puppy dog eyes.**

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**I**

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**V**


	4. Misguided Opinions

**Misguided Opinions**

Winter's kiss had blanketed the reclusive town of Moose Lake on the very first day of the solstice, coating every exposed surface with a thin layer of fluffy, powdery snow. The human residents were not deterred in the least, suiting up with their beanies, scarves, and jackets, immune to the chilly air and even chillier breeze.

The blinding sun did manage to warm the air to a borderline cold fifty-five degrees, comfy enough for even the birds and squirrels to brave as they foraged. It is fair to say that they were better equipped to handle the uninviting northern climate than the humans, their bodies shrouded in either fuzzy fur or finely-arranged feathers.

Two sizable avian creatures dressed in bold black and brilliant white plumage, known as Canada Geese, chose to spend their day in Moose Lake and do what they did best: harass the local animal population.

They were the infamous bullies of the Minnesota community by the names Alice and Chloe, their near-elderly age hardly quelling their unorthodox manner of fun-seeking. The gray feathers on their heads and necks were obvious, but just the same, mischievous glints flashed in their eyes and professed that their youthful spirits were no less tempered.

They spiraled down out of the azure sky and landed heavily on a snow-encrusted bench, their webbed feet brushing off the substance and securing a good grip on the wood. But to them and them alone, this was no ordinary bench, for across the street from it lay the quaint facility known as Blue Macaw Books.

It was there that their prime target for annoying had lived for practically his entire life.

It had been closed down and left vacant for a few years, much to the dismay of Alice and Chloe. They were hardly classifiable as bright and could never figure out why.

But just one week prior, while they were on reconnaissance, the bookstore exploded with activity.

The blinds were lifted, the main window cleaned, and the veritable mats of dust removed and shooed outside. The sisterly Canada Geese swore that they spied the unmistakable navy body of Blu milling about with his human companions, and their eagerness to relive the good old days consumed them.

Nonetheless, they waited patiently for him and his posse to settle down; expecting that the perfect time to strike him with expertly-thrown snowballs could not be far off. From their slightly-distant perch, they could see their pseudo-friend Blu on the counter with his back to them, probably drinking hot cocoa from a cup.

Their vision was blurred due to their dawning nearsightedness, but they were sure it was him.

"He's been drinking that cocoa for a while, ya know. He'll have to come outside eventually and 'take care of business, if ya know what I mean.' "

"Definitely, Chloe. And when he does, we'll be ready to take him down with some fast-moving balls of justice!"

On cue, they leaned forwards and scooped up snow from the part of the bench where the humans sat, compacting and shaping it with their wings. Once they were made sufficiently dense, the geese tossed them up and caught them repeatedly in a sly manner, chuckling all the while.

Just then, Blu was released from the shop by his red-haired owner, and he proceeded to fly around to the rear of the bookstore. The geese froze and aimed carefully, planning to launch their makeshift mortars as soon as he reappeared.

"C'mon out Blu, we've got a surprise for you…" Alice whispered darkly.

His strongly-hued shape then turned the corner on foot three seconds later, and the geese fired. In parabolic arcs the snowballs traveled, arcing upwards and then plunging down towards the unsuspecting macaw.

Alice's missed by a few inches and landed to his left, while Chloe's hit the mark and dropped squarely onto his head. The macaw vanished as he was knocked down, becoming buried by the snow bank piled up against the side of Blue Macaw Books.

Only his head feathers and the tip of his tail were left sticking up, and the geese failed to hold back their laughter.

They jumped into the air and high-fived, honking nasally with such vigor that they nearly lost their balance.

"Yeah, way to go, Chloe! That was one sweet shot!"

"Thanks a bunch, sista! This girl hasn't lost her touch at all. No way!"

Intent on gloating about their victory and humiliating Blu further, they skimmed over the barren street and alighted on the hidden sidewalk. The macaw shifted and rose from its prison, shaking furiously and brushing the stubborn flakes from its plumage. It cursed under its breath and then raised its head up to gaze at the oversized visitors.

And that was when Alice and Chloe received the shock of their lives.

Now that the macaw was in focus, they realized it wasn't Blu at all they had attacked. The feathers were a stunning light blue, sprouting from a gracefully curved and plump body – especially in her stomach region.

A cute array of feathers emerged from the back of the macaw's head, wriggling about in the breeze. And to top it all off, a pair of icy blue irises stared at them that were distinctly different from Blu's hazel ones.

This was a _female_ macaw, the geese realized, a unique specimen they had never laid eyes upon.

In a gruff voice stemming from her misfortune, the female macaw asked, "Can I help you? And was it one of you who hit me with snow?"

Ignoring the questions completely, Alice asked in astonishment, "Who… who and what are you?"

The strange female shivered and replied, "My name is Jewel. I am a Spix's Macaw from Brazil. I am-"

"Hey! I remember you, Alice and Chloe!" a masculine voice shouted.

They watched as the _actual_ Blu swooped in next to Jewel and wrapped his wings around her defensively.

He narrowed his eyes as he said sharply, "Don't even think about picking on my Jewel! You can taunt me all you want, but messing with her is disrespect that I will not tolerate!"

"Wait a minute, these are the bullies you warned me about, Blu?" Jewel asked incredulously, locking eyes with him.

"You bet. They can't resist throwing snowballs at anyone and everyone they come across. They're both pests, and always have been."

Upon hearing the truth, Jewel whipped her head around and glared daggers at them.

"So you _were_ the ones who decided to hit me a minute ago, weren't you? What's the big deal? I bet neither of you would like it one bit if I did the same thing!"

"Do you know what I would have done if you had hurt our-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down! We thought she was you, Blu. This is all a big misunderstanding!" Alice blurted out, cutting him off.

"Who _exactly_ is she? Please explain so we can sort this crazy situation out, brotha," Chloe added urgently.

The irritated male loosened his grip on Jewel and folded his wings into their proper positions.

"This is Jewel, and she is my mate of five years. Long story short, we met in Rio for a… personal reason, and after going on an adventure that nearly proved fatal on more than one occasion, we fell in love with each other. And just so you know, she is pregnant with our first four children."

A wave of utter stupefaction passed over both their faces, their bodies going rigid. They looked back and forth between Blu and Jewel, barely making sense of the incredible news he had revealed to them.

They had imagined Blu, being the shy nerd bird that he was, to be forever confined to the bookstore as a domesticated pet.

And yet, everything he had just told them dashed their former predictions. Here was the once-flightless, introverted Blu, now the mate to a bird who was surprisingly attractive and the soon-to-be father of four baby macaws. No wonder Jewel's midsection appeared swollen, as if she had stuffed herself with more food than she could handle.

It was nearly too much knowledge for the geese to contain, and alien feelings that they had not detected for many years began to surface inside them: Regret, self-dissatisfaction, and a sense of worthlessness.

Their physical size was irrelevant, as they actually felt small and frail in comparison to him.

They had been ruffians since the day they were born, treating their numerous siblings badly and earning daily scolding from their parents. Even after they left the nest, their mean streaks continued into adulthood, still present in them to this very day.

They were bullies through and through, having done absolutely nothing with their lives but torment others. They never sought to make friends with anyone, let alone catch the eyes of any males and form steady relationships.

But what made them feel the worst and tied their stomachs into knots was that Blu had outclassed them in every way.

He was a pet in the beginning, but he had secured a wonderful future by way of his own courage and devotion. He was romantically bonded to the beautiful Jewel and had achieved the status of father to boot, a family he could love and cherish already on the way.

Only now did they realize how awful they had treated him in the past, and how misguided their opinions were about him.

For the first time since their hatching, their stony hearts cracked under the weight of the emotions that pounded away at them from the inside. The weight of the insults and hurtful words they had hurled at Blu over the years proved too much for them.

Their expressions turned gloomy, their bodies sagged, and they hung their heads in shame.

"Alice? Chloe? Hey, what's wrong?" Blu asked in a soft, concerned tone.

"Blu, we're sorry bro…" Chloe mumbled.

"We… we underestimated you. You've matured, found that special someone, and found _love_. But Chloe and I… we haven't found anything. We've wasted every single year of our lives, while you have made the best of yours…"

"We thought… you wouldn't amount to anything, but we were totally wrong. We owe you the most sincere apology, Blu."

Both geese looked up and held Blu's gaze, sadness splattered all over their faces.

"Actually, we owe you a million apologies, but will you… will you accept a huge one instead?"

Blu's breath was stolen from him, his compassionate heart melting as he absorbed their words. He had never liked them – showing a pronounced disdain for them is perhaps a smarter interpretation of his attitude – but he was being forced to reconsider.

There was no hint of deception in their admissions of guilt, only painful honesty.

Their numerous self-destructive claims and praise of his feats only bolstered their credibility that much more. They had metaphorically spilled their guts as to why as to why they were horrible birds, while at the same time pleading for Blu's forgiveness in the most direct manner possible.

His heart was stirred like a pot of warm honey, as he was nothing like Jewel – though it wasn't his intention to characterize her in a negative light. He was simply a kind and caring male by nature, while Jewel was more action-oriented, easily perturbed, and not one who forgave easily.

Weighing the pros and cons of accepting their apology versus denying it, he settled upon the only choice he was at liberty to make.

He took two resolute steps forward and inhaled a decent breath.

"Alice, Chloe, I am humbled by your confessions and the mettle it took for you to say them in the first place. And yes, I'll admit that you were my least favorite birds and I probably would have had a less-stressful time growing up if you two hadn't been around. But that's not what happened. The truth is, you could have reverted back to your ancient ways and bullied us as soon as you saw us, but you didn't. I, for one, can see that there is decency in your hearts. While only you can shape yourselves into more virtuous geese, I can at least help."

Blu put on a proud smile and added, "Alice, Chloe, I accept your apologies. Cross my heart and hope to die."

Blu carved an X shaped design in his chest feathers with a claw, right above the organ that pumped his blood.

Moved to happy tears, Chloe and Alice answered simultaneously, "Oh Blu… thank you so much. Thank you thank you thank you…"

Chloe picked Blu up with her grand wings and hugged him, smushing him into her firm, fluffy chest.

"You're... welcome. You know… it would… be nice… to breathe…"

"My bad…" She set him down in the snow, only for Alice to snatch him up.

"I was half expecting you to tell us to leave..."

"I didn't have it… in me. Alice… I need oxygen…"

"Oh darn it. Sorry..."

She lowered him back onto his own two feet, and he pulled a rush of icy Minnesota air into his empty lungs.

"It's alright. I'm fine... I think."

They shot him sheepish glances as he pressed down his disorderly feathers. Jewel hopped over to Blu and patted his back.

She then quipped, "You and Chloe are definitely sisters. You act so much alike."

"Yeah, but mostly everyone thinks we're just good friends. You know, cause of Chloe's accent."

"Girl, ain't nothin' wrong with my accent. Psssht."

Alice asked, "What should we do, Blu, now that we've settled our disputes?"

"I've always wanted to take a peek into the bookstore. But I don't think that red-haired lady would like us bein' in there. She might break out the broom…"

"No no no, Linda wouldn't do that. She loves all birds, but she happens to have a preference for macaws like me."

Blu grinned from cheek to cheek as Jewel put in, "Still thinking like a pet, huh?"

Blu's grin flipped into an unimpressed frown.

"Companion, honey. _Companion._"

Blu cleared his throat and continued, "Come with me to the door, and I'll get Linda's attention and ask if you can come inside. I doubt she'll say no, but you have to promise to be on your best behavior. Bringing a pair of geese in a bookstore is like sticking a bull in a china shop."

"I understand, Blu. I promise to be on my best behavior."

"Me too, you lucky guy," Chloe chimed.

"Good. Follow me."

Jewel, however, stayed behind and watched the trio of birds waddle amusingly around the corner and slip out of sight.

"Maybe this is the start of some new friendships for Blu _and_ me…"

"Jewel, Linda's waiting for you! You gonna sit outside all day and freeze your tail feathers off?"

Blu's voice hollered from around that same corner.

"Coming, Blu!"

She sprang into the air and skimmed over to the entrance, flying just above the ground and throwing up swirls of snow as she plopped down next to Linda's feet and ambled over the threshold, Blu beaming at her while Alice and Chloe giddily surveyed the interior of the establishment.

Linda went to pet the geese, her hand reaching out fearlessly to stroke their necks.

The door clicked shut as Jewel made for Blu, but her movement was abruptly stopped as she felt a tug at the base of her tail. She whipped her head around and saw that it had been pinched between the door and its frame.

She huffed and squawked, "Linda, I'm stuck! My tail is caught, and I can't move!"

Blu's owner looked at jewel and saw her humorous predicament.

"Oh gosh! Sorry, Jewel! I'll be right there."

Linda strode over and opened the door, Jewel yanking her tail free in an irksome manner. The ends of once-curving plumes were crumpled and resulted in her whole tail looking tacky.

"Ugh, great. I don't think preening is gonna be able to fix that."

Blu hopped over to the site of the accident and examined her accessory more closely.

"Well, I think you're right. I bet you can repair them easier if you get them wet. Regardless, you're still the most beautiful bird in the world to me."

He pursed his beak and made a smooching sound.

"Oh stop it. You're making me blush, mister optimistic feathers."

"I know. It's because I love it when you do that."

He bobbed closer and enveloped her back with his right wing.

"C'mon Jewel, let's show our guests around upstairs."

"Fine by me."

Blu and Jewel jogged side-by-side to catch up with the geese, which were waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. The Spix's Macaws took point and climbed the steps on foot, Alice and Chloe trailing not too far behind as the staircase creaked under their mass.

Blu and Jewel reached the second floor well ahead of their comrades, making way for the tired, elderly geese as they surmounted the final step.

"Hoo boy, what a workout. I'm gettin' old…"

"You said it, Chloe. We were built for flying, not walking…"

"You need a minute, girls?" Blu asked.

"Not really. We're good. Lead the way, Blu," Chloe answered, gesturing with her wing.

"Alright then. Let's go check out my play room first. Just please, don't make fun of me for the kinds of toys I have in here. I may have played with them when I was a chick, but now I'm an adult."

Jewel walked alongside Blu down the hall, looking briefly at the two-tone birds a few seconds later. They were both wearing genial smiles on their black beaks, their elderly eyes glowing with delight.

She faced forwards and couldn't help but smiling herself, coming to a stop at the closed door in her path. As Blu lifted off and landed on the doorknob, she mused to herself one simple phrase.

_Yep, I can see it now. By the end of the day, we're gonna be great friends for sure. All four of us._

* * *

**Do I get bonus points for addressing this specific post-Rio plot? Huh huh, do I, do I? :P**

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	5. Who and What Is She?

**Who and What Is She?**

She was perched on the branch projecting from our home tree, immersing herself in the brisk breeze sweeping throughout the jungle. I was watching her from the calm safety of the hollow, just inside the rim and sheltered from the energetic winds.

Her eyes were closed, her head was held high, and her posture was straight. Her plumage rippled and shifted as if it was alive, a sparkling azure mat of feathers that had chosen her as its permanent host.

She truly was an angel, a divinely attractive macaw residing on Earth who earned the envy of every other female in the jungle. And as destiny would have it, I had gained her favor and ensured that she would be mine forever.

It took both of us nearly plunging into the ocean and drowning in each other's wings to realize that we were in love, sure, but some higher power saw to it that we were given a second chance.

The sublime kiss she gave me as we plummeted to our mutual doom came to pass just over two years ago, but even to this day, I had not forgotten it. I could still savor the tropical taste she left in my beak and the influx of passionate energy radiating from her body, those two magical sensations bringing the rhythm of my heart to life.

Every day that I awoke and found myself staring into her crystalline eyes was another day when my unconditional love was reaffirmed. She reciprocated that very same faith in me without hesitation, because her enamored soul refused to allow her to miss out.

There were many a male macaw who would claim that we should not be together, that someone of my personality and design was too low in quality for a near-perfect specimen such as her.

But to all those bearing grudges against me, spewing dissent rather than praise from their beaks, I have this to say: It was not solely my choice that the diamond of the rain-forest saw me was the one she was most content with offering herself to.

In theory, she could have pitted every male macaw in this leafy domain against one another for the right to love her and be her mate, but she did not. In actuality, she could have cast me aside as simply another hormone-driven, overconfident suitor and directed her attention to a male with a superior DNA makeup.

But the cold, hard truth is that she picked _me_ to spend the rest of her days with, and no avian Leonardo DiCaprio or Johnny Depp would _ever_ convince her otherwise.

I was a male she could count on to make her happy and fulfill her dreams, no matter how shy and clumsy my behavior was. Just the same, she was someone with the courage to stand by me through all of life's upsets and troubles and help me accomplish my own set of aspirations.

It was an unorthodox case of role-reversal, me being the timid one and her being the brave one, but it didn't matter. We were stuck to each other as if we had been coated with super glue, and no worldly threat had the fortitude to wrench us apart.

She was my lover, my confidante, and my personal sapphire, but she was _so much more_ than that.

To analyze her completely would be a lengthy and tedious task, but my mind had the capacity to do just that should I ever want to. Since she and I were both contained in our own tiny worlds of self-enjoyment and tranquility, free to waste the entire day however we wanted to, deciphering the splendid creature known as Jewel was exactly what I ended up doing.

There were a large number of ways I could mentally break her down and describe her, but a select few stood out as channels of thought that were easier to grasp. But I didn't want to jump the gun and risk taking a bullet in the back.

The very first step I had to do was surprisingly straightforward: ask a short, defining question that I would base my examination of my mate on. After mulling for a few moments and inhaling a rich breath of oxygen, the question came to me.

To kick off the process, I asked myself inside my head: _Who and what is she?_

To be as fundamental as possible, she was created when a Z chromosome from one of her father's lucky sperm cells fused with one of her mother's eggs that held a W chromosome. Therefore, from a biological standpoint, she is simply an impeccably-ordered collection of an astronomical number of cells that all hold the WZ chromosome pair in their nuclei.

The genetic code they wielded led to her embryo developing as a female, modeling her internal physical structure and external appearance in accordance with her gender. Her gorgeous teal eyes, plump body shape, fabulous tail, and fluffy head feathers were what categorized her as _female_, features that were preordained when she was just a zygote inside her mother's belly.

Her scientific origins dealt with, I moved on so that I could detail her in an equally important light.

She may be a mass of cells working together to perpetuate the concept known as life, but her invisible soul and one-of-a-kind consciousness set her apart from every other animal on this planet.

She highly values her freedom – in a general sense, considering the fact that she sacrificed some of that to be with me – which I argue symbolizes the wild streak in her soul.

She was once distrustful and violent in regards to _all_ humans – though that is still the case with those she is unfamiliar with – since she will do anything to protect herself, often at the expense of others if they meddle with her.

She can be quite the stubborn girl, her spirit motivating her to support the things she loves and reject the things she does not. She definitely played hard-to-get during our past adventures in Rio, as she wanted to make _absolutely_ sure that I was worth embarking on the journey of life with.

Lastly, I can clearly see that she has a split personality, rather damning evidence that every one of us has a dark side.

She can be uncaring and even callous in some situations, but underneath her rude outer shell is a soft core of love and warmth from which all her sweetness and benevolence radiates.

And I will always believe that that is Jewel's true nature, that she is a female who embraces those close to her – me being the one she cherishes with all her heart – and merely wants to make everyone around her feel as blissful as she herself is.

All of these reasons and explanations are why Jewel is the light of my life, the most wonderful female I would ever have the pleasure of knowing and the one I would one day slip into the afterlife with.

If she disappeared one day, never to be my blazing sun and mercurial moon again, my identity would cease to exist. Without _her_, there could never be _me _again, and I would rather end my life than continue to breathe and feel and think for _one minute_ in her absence.

I don't know if this generalization holds true across the globe, but to me, Jewel was the greatest gift ever bestowed upon me, in all her femininity and elegance and duality.

I regretted nothing so long as I was around her, free to adore her and sleep with her and satisfy my innate biological drive by having se-

"Blu! You're staring off into space again. Can… you… hear… me?"

"Ahhh!" I squawked, scrambling backwards in response to her startling voice and landing hard on my back.

I promptly shot my right wing down to cover up my nether regions, throwing my mate a mean glare of exasperation.

"Cheese and sprinkles, Jewel! I hate it when you _do_ that!"

"Hey, I'm sorry! But really, I had to get your attention _somehow_! And why are you doing that with your wing? There's no reason why you need to hide your-"

"Stop. Just stop right there. I'm not the kind of bird who flashes his intimate area to everyone like it's nothing."

She rolled her eyes and hopped closer to me, helping me back to my feet.

"But I'm not _everyone_, Blu. I'm your _mate_. There is no part of your body I haven't seen and or touched before."

I dusted my chest off brusquely with my wings and shot her an unconvinced expression.

"I… I don't care. Now can we drop the subject please, honey bun? You're making me uncomfortable."

She exhaled in defeat and groaned, "Fine, Blu, fine. Subject dropped."

"_Thank you_, Jewel. I appreciate your consideration."

She slapped me harmlessly on the shoulder – making a point nonetheless – and then pecked me briefly on the cheek.

"You're such a pain sometimes, but I still love you."

She put on a wide smile and batted her eyelashes at me, all former traces of her irritation gone, but I wasn't fooled.

"I _bet _you do," I said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, Blu, lighten up. Or I will be _forced_ to make you lighten up."

I crossed my wings defiantly.

"Oh really? And how would you go about doing that, dear Jewel?"

"Like this!"

She grasped my midsection with her wings and began tickling away, sending torrents of nerve impulses to my brain that caused me to burst into motion and laughter.

"Je-Jewel… no st-stop! Those a-are my… se-sensitive spots! Ha ha ha! Help! I'm… I'm under a-attack!"

I tried backing away to escape her torture, but she matched my retreat step for step and chased me all the way to the wall. Any further movement barred, I went limp and fought to push her away, rapidly running out of oxygen.

"Okay… okay… p-lease… I can't breathe! You've had… y-your fun! No m-more… Jewel!"

She instantly removed her wings and waited while I recovered, clearly amused by my loud panting and heaving chest. When I had at last brought myself back from the brink of unconsciousness, she enfolded me with her wings and pulled me to my feet.

She then spun me halfway around and purposely lost her balance, sending us both to the floor. She was physically on top of me, pinning me down with her weight. She hugged me tightly and then peppered my face and neck with playful kisses.

"Mwah mwah mwah mwah! Now do you believe me when I say I love you?"

"Yes, I do, and I say that because I know you won't take no for an answer."

She lifted her head up and nodded vigorously.

"Uh huh, you got that right. You're catching on, Blu. I'm proud of you."

"That makes me feel good, I guess. And to be fair, I have to admit that I love you too."

"Aw… you're such a sweetheart."

She kissed me directly on the beak, silencing my unrest and making me quiver with pleasure. She then rolled off of me and bounced to her feet, pulling me gently to mine.

"Blu, I think we need to get away from the hollow and go somewhere. You know, take a vacation and go exploring. How does that sound, handsome?"

I cleared my throat and replied, "Um… I'm kind of in the mood to be lazy and sit on my tail all day. On any other day I would love to go with you, but…"

"But Blu, it's gonna break my heart if I have to go alone…"

She pouted like a baby and hit me with puppy-dog eyes.

I moaned and replied, "Jewel, _please_ don't play that card."

"So you're not gonna come with me then?" she said in a medium-pitched, shaky voice.

"Jewel... I kind of don't want to. Don't get mad at me. I just wanna relax and-"

She snapped back to her old self and spun with a flourish, marching to the rim of the hollow and spreading her wings.

She looked at me with a flat gaze and said indifferently, "Suit yourself, Blu. I wanted to do some naughty things with you tonight, but eh, not so much anymore. I guess I'll be off then. Bye bye!"

I internally squawked in frustration, my hormones spiking as my mind shifted to think about the range of "naughty things" she was suggesting. That was an offer my body wouldn't let my consciousness refuse, no matter how hard I wanted to.

Ugh… curse Jewel and her persuasive… female-ness.

"Okay, Jewel, you win. I'll go with you…"

She tucked her wings against her body and whirled around to face me.

"Ahhh, that's more like it. C'mon, Blu, I promise to make it as enjoyable as possible. I'll even let you pick the first place we should visit."

I cracked a small smile and joined her at the edge, kissing her cheek.

"In spite of your manipulation skills, I still love you, honey bun. And I always will. Now, follow me, if you don't mind."

I threw open my flying appendages and burst into the air, the rushing noise from behind me meaning that my mate had done the same. She sped up to sail along beside me, pursing her beak and blowing me a kiss mid-flight, adding a smooching sound for added effect.

Sacrificing my wishes to spend the day with the one I loved was oh-so worth it. After all, love was all about putting your soul mate's needs above your own and letting him or her take control for a while. And to tell you the truth, I was eager to experience what intimate tricks Jewel had in store for me and feel the endless pleasure of her shameless touch.

Was I a sex-crazed bird who only thought of mating all the time? Certainly not.

But when Jewel, the smoking-hot macaw that she was, said things like _that_ to me, my encoded desire to copulate was reactivated. It's not something I can inhibit, so don't go blaming me.

After all, I personally feel that I am the luckiest male in the world to get the opportunity to mate with an angel like Jewel. It's always the pretty ones who blow your mind in bed, or should I say, in the nest.

So I take back what I squawked earlier.

Bless my alluring Jewel and her all-powerful female-ness.

* * *

**Has this changed your perceptions of Jewel at all? She is more complex than you thought, isn't she? **

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	6. Sunday

**A/N: Better brace yourselves and grab a box of Kleenex, because this one is gonna break some hearts.**

******Listen to Sunday by Nikonn while you read, if you so choose. It's my inspiration for this piece, as you can tell just by looking at the title.**

**Enjoy the sad tale, everyone, and please review. Why am I so fond of these?**

* * *

**Sunday**

It was morning on the day before Monday all across the globe of planet Earth, that twenty-four hour period that symbolized the conclusion of one week and the commencement of the next.

It was the last chance for social butterflies to leave their homes behind, on a mission to hit the streets and party.

It was the last chance for happily-married couples to take a trip to some fancy restaurant and engage in fine dining with their soul-mates.

It was the last chance for procrastinators to power up their laptops, flip open their textbooks, and finish their history assignments.

Long story short, it was the day on which every individual comprising the seven billion plus people that made up mankind took care of what was most important to him or her.

But this work of fiction will not be dealing with the bipedal masters of the third rock from the sun. No, it will examine the less-than-complete life of a lesser creature, one who is a victim of life's greatest injustice… and certainty.

Rotating the magnifying lens of our immense, heavenly microscope into place, let us peer into the objective lenses and zoom in on a particular metropolis stationed on the east flank of South America. Next, let us target a finely-crafted two-story house in the northwest sector of the city, on the outskirts of the bustling haven. And for the last stage of our examination, let us gaze through a clean rectangular window on the lower story, into a pleasantly-lit living room that held our creature in question.

That very bird was a female Spix's Macaw, an aged, half-stunning specimen who was all by her lonesome self.

Soft, plushy material covered the chair she was dozing in, the fabric gentle upon her ruffled feathers. She had propped herself up against the back of the chair, her tail flowing out in front of her and draping over the edge. Her feet were relaxed and limp, her wings hanging lazily at her sides.

The random popping of the fireplace mingled with the steady sound of her breathing, though her inhalations and exhalations were languid and deep. It was to be expected from a bird who had witnessed as many sunrises and sunsets as she and lived through dozens of cheerful birthdays and anniversaries.

But she was a resilient macaw by the name of Jewel, born and raised decades ago in the unforgiving jungles encircling Rio. Perhaps that was one reason why she had achieved fifty-five years of age… and had outlasted the beholder of her heart.

She was once the envy of every female and had easily caught the romantic eye of her partner, but her appearance had long since become tarnished.

Her feathers had stopped replacing themselves twelve months ago, leading to irregular patches of skin being shown here and there. Her strength and stamina had decreased by a modest amount; there were some days when she was fit enough to stay awake and others where her tired body stayed asleep much longer than usual.

It was clear that life had become difficult for her, and her fall from grace could most likely be attributed to the passing of her mate ten years prior.

There had been no darker period in her existence than that, and in the wake of his unfair death, her depression had never truly been cured. She knew it had been a quick and painless termination, but that was little consolation to her forever-broken heart. In fact, what wounded her the most was that she wasn't given the chance to say goodbye to her lover.

They had drifted off together one night, content to be next to each other, and by the next morning, he was simply gone.

There was no breath cycle or heartbeat to be found, his valiant soul having fled sometime before he greeted the new day. Such a tragedy nearly coerced Jewel to take her own life just to reunite with him, and no one would have blamed her.

But through the emotional support lavished onto her by their offspring and her human companions, Jewel pulled through and did her best to move on in his perpetual absence.

Her mate, Blu, was the most sensational and loving macaw she had ever encountered, and by losing him, she had lost a part of herself. He had given her all the children she ever wanted, all the compliments she ever deserved, and all the affection she ever craved.

He was so selfless, always putting his needs above hers except when she demanded high and low for him not to, to allow _her_ to do something for _him_. In the months and days before his life force was extinguished, she could tell his age was taking its toll on him, but he refused to let it get him down.

His charming personality remained the same, whether it was his timid nature showing when they did something new in the company of strangers or his courage when it came to defending her in the face of a threat.

Looking back, her eyes watered when she thought of his bravery despite his failing health.

He probably knew he was dying, but he had kept that secret from her, wanting to ensure her happiness and spare her feelings. But she didn't hold his choice against him, as he always meant well in word and deed.

Everything Jewel had known had all changed on the fateful day ten years ago, and she had lost count of the times she had wished for him to come back, to miraculously appear and welcome her into open wings.

But he never did.

That being said, the scars upon her soul were too deep to heal, each day a solemn reminder of how Nature had reclaimed what was rightfully hers. Oh how she longed for the power to dive back into the past and relive the good times, but such a thing was not possible.

There was no going back to the way things once were, and Jewel found herself increasingly lost without her mate to guide her. Her visits to the middle-aged humans Linda and Tulio decreased in frequency before stopping altogether.

Her heart told Jewel there was no positive benefit from seeing them, as she would only experience their sorrow and regret on her behalf. Even worse was the fact that Jewel's bonds with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – yes, her genetic line was that extensive – had become very much strained.

They had mourned the loss of Blu for a time, but then had absconded elsewhere to live their lives, some even departing Rio altogether. Jewel knew not one day went by where they did not honor Blu's spirit in one form or another.

She still loved them with all her heart, no matter where they had gone, and how could she doubt that they loved her equally?

A small part of her prayed for any number of them to find her and comfort her, but she had gone without contact for over five months. She missed them dearly and hoped to one day encounter them, but she drew the will to carry on with her own existence by treasuring them in her mind.

Jewel was indeed disconnected from the world beyond the walls of Linda's home, but she was too forlorn to care. She was forsaken to sadness while the other thousands of birds inhabiting Rio continued to enjoy life, and she could not bear the mockery.

She wanted no one to pity her or fuss over her, and so she decided to lock herself away and tackle her plight on her own. For a whole year she had resided in that very house, venturing out only to find sustenance or escape being discovered by Lind and Tulio.

They had not flashed their faces for a whole three months, but she did not seek the answer as to why. She preferred it that way, to be honest. She was free to reminisce in solitude, dream of Blu when she was asleep, and actively think of him when she was awake.

She could not deny that it felt strange to be in her situation, as she was the only living thing residing in that comfy abode and had no one to interact with. And so she occupied herself by napping, contemplating, and dwelling on the wonderful times she shared with Blu when he was alive.

She gained a more profound understanding of herself in the process, realizing why Blu's love never wavered in their forty year relationship and how much she meant to him. She had always loved him too, no matter how many arguments they had or how many rough spells Fate tossed their way.

Even if he wasn't physically with her anymore, she would never forget him and let his memory be cast into the shadows. Jewel didn't believe in the supernatural as Blu did, but she did have faith in the fact that his invisible spirit dropped by every so often.

What else could explain the sudden bursts of warmth that bubbled up inside her on the gloomy days when she grew downcast or the whispers of misplaced wind that blew across her cheeks when she was on the verge of crying?

She would often hear quiet noises echoing through the house that reminded her of wing beats, or, when she took to walking around to flex her muscles, the pit-pat of tiny feet upon the wooden floor that were separate from hers.

There was no question that Blu was hanging around, right by Jewel's side, as he had always been.

It was his way of saying, "Jewel, I'm here for you, and I will never leave you."

He had always referred to her as an "angel," and now that _he_ had become _her _invisible guardian, the thought always put a smile on her face.

She concluded that he watched her constantly, trailing her wherever she went, and Jewel was glad that he would do so for the rest of her days. It was as if he was waiting for her to slip away and jump into the next life, waiting for her to soul to flee the world and seek his out, so that they could be bound to each other for all eternity.

Whether her last breath would come soon or not-so-soon, she would enjoy every minute of the final chapter of her life, knowing that her mate was tending to her every waking moment. And when her violet hour did come to a close, she would let go and pass on without any regrets, knowing that Blu was ready to greet her with navy wings spread wide.

* * *

I opened my eyes dreamily and yawned, checking the room and making sure nothing was out of place… or if the house was on fire. Everything appeared exactly as I had left it the day before, so I got to my feet and fluttered off the chair.

A short spasm of pain raced from my left foot to my brain as I landed heavily, and I winced. I picked the hurting foot up, flexing and relaxing my claws a few times to cure the stinging. When it finally went away, I set my foot down gently and shot my gaze over to the fireplace.

Only a few of the twigs were on fire; the others were either smoldering, or had been turned to ash. I limped over to the right of the fireplace, up to the chest-high pile of dry sticks I had gathered as fuel.

I grabbed a long, skinny one with my beak, quickly and carefully setting it down inside the stone pit, as I didn't want to risk becoming fuel myself. No, that was hardly the way I wanted to go.

I did the same with five others, and by that time the flames had grown tall and wide, pouring waves of heat into the room. The crackling and popping if the branches increased in frequency; I found myself mesmerized by the dancing tongues of orange and yellow.

I stared endlessly into the shifting sheets of color, seeing all sorts of made-up shapes appear and disappear with each passing second. A particularly loud _snap_ issued from the fire, startling me, and a red-hot ember decided to liberate itself at the same time.

It landed so close to my foot that the heat grabbed my attention.

"Whoa! Shoot!"

I wouldn't dare stomp on it and burn my skin, so I did the next best thing: I spit on it. The ember hissed and smoked as my saliva cooled it off and rendered it harmless, and I chucked it back where it belonged.

There was a blackened spot on the oval rug I was standing on, and rubbing it did not remove it. I sighed.

"Oh well. Nothing I can do to fix it now."

I scooted up and bathed myself in the penetrating warmth of the natural furnace, contemplating how I was going to spend my day. I leaned my head down, falling deep into thought, my eyes fixated on my chest.

I noticed black specks clinging to my feathers here and there, and oddly enough, their numbers seemed to grow the longer I looked.

_Why am I so dirty? Huh. That's weird. I haven't been outside in three days. Maybe I should go take a bath and clean up. Yeah, that sounds nice._

My mind made up, I turned around and made for the hallway on the other side of the living room. Something happened as I crossed the invisible line separating the two and approached the bathroom door.

I came to a halt and watched as the ivory door slowly opened on its own, without a sound.

When a gap large enough for me to fit through was made, it stopped moving, just like that. I wasn't freaked out, because I knew who was responsible.

_Thanks, Blu. I'm glad you're still here with me…_

I waddled into the bathroom and used my wings to push the door nearly shut, so that I wouldn't have to waste time and energy turning the handle to get out. I could've left it wide open, but my subconscious wanted me to have privacy in an empty house.

It makes no sense, but hey, it's how I am, and how I've always been.

I jumped onto the edge of the shiny, square-shaped, white tub and dropped down, a few steps taking me to the water control knobs. It hadn't taken me too many tries to figure out how they worked. The one on the left made hot water flow and the one on the right made cold water flow.

Finding the balance between them to create very warm, refreshing water was easy as pie.

But before I reached for them, I pushed the golden metal thing on the floor of the tub down, sealing off the hole underneath. I then went into a hover and turned the left knob halfway, and a thick stream of water came shooting out of the faucet.

Clouds of steam rose up all around me, and so I quickly turned the right knob halfway as well. I touched down on the rim of the tub again and dipped my toe into the bubbling fluid. It was too hot for me to stand, so I crouched down and waited for the temperature to drop.

A minute later I tested it again, and it was nice and toasty.

I inhaled a breath of humid air and plopped into the water, submerging myself up to my stomach. I had turned the water off at this point and used the tub like a birdbath before, but the showerhead would make things much easier.

I waded over to the faucet and stretched my neck to grab the knob on top of it, trying my best to avoid dunking my head into the jet blasting out. I jerked upwards, and the faucet stopped puking.

The showerhead mounted high on the wall above me sprang to life, a circular curtain of invigorating mini-jets squirting from it. I ambled backwards and immersed myself in it, feeling it soak my feathers and tickle my skin.

I then began to preen myself heartily, planning to start with my tail and end with my upper body. I alternated between nibbling my plumage with my beak and scrubbing it with my wings, hoping I wouldn't dislodge any more feathers.

I was surprised at the amount of debris that I set free, and I worked that much more diligently to ensure I would be spotless when I was done. My back and wings took the longest, but I didn't rush myself.

I preened at a steady pace and finished the job in a few minutes. My belly and chest were next, and I focused on the parts of my neck I could reach. Lastly, I gave my face a short washing, feeling satisfied with the improvement of my appearance.

To my dismay, however, one of my primaries had come loose, as had a few neck feathers.

There was now a bald spot where my neck met my chest, my wrinkly pink skin showing through. I shook my head pitifully, as that area would never heal. Gluing the useless feathers to the wall of the tub, I shut off the water and opened the drain.

With great effort, I pulled my soaked body out and flopped onto the mat like a fish. The greenish towel I had used to dry myself many times previously was right there next to me, and so I used my beak to wrap it around me.

I shook myself inside it and lay down, rolling around like a worm. I had worn myself out by the time all the water had been transferred to the towel, and so I spent more time than necessary in the bathroom as I waited to get my stamina back.

Being so old, my strength faded much faster than it used to, and maybe it also had something to do with the fact that Blu wasn't here to empower me. When I had beat back my lethargy, I squirmed out from under the fabric and exited the sauna-like space.

As I waddled my way for the living room, my stomach gurgled so loud that I could hear it. I placed my wing on my midsection, and the vibrations ran though my bones.

_Oh man, I'm so hungry. Better eat something and give myself an energy boost…_

I hobbled on and turned left from the den to enter the kitchen, as there was no wall to separate the two areas. My beak watered slightly as I eyed the plant-themed bowl on the table, where I stashed the fruit I had harvested.

I spread my wings in preparation to take off, but I heard a shuffling sound as the bowl slid to the right an inch or so. Without warning, a mango tumbled out and hit the wood with a dull _thud_.

Thankfully, it didn't fall off and splat on the ground, rocking back and forth a few inches away from the end of the table.

_A wonderful choice Blu, since mangoes have always been my favorite food. Thank you._

I sailed up and retrieved the firm object, gliding over to the rug in front of the hearth. I tucked my legs beneath me and crouched down, scooping out a beakful of the mango.

I held it there without chewing for a short while, savoring the taste of the tangy juices that covered my tongue. With each bite the effect was renewed, another addition of ripe insides replacing the portion I had swallowed.

Just the one mango left me feeling very full, my stomach having shrunken over the years and unable to stretch to hold more food. After using the flames to keep me warm while I digested my meal, I looked around at the empty house and realized I had nothing to do.

Well, nothing to do _until _I thought of something to do, that is.

A spider crawling on the ceiling caught my attention, but then my eyes were drawn to the rectangles of wood on top of the stony fireplace. I lofted up to where they were perched and instantly recognized the row of six framed photos.

Three of them showed Blu and Linda doing things when they were both many years younger. The fourth showed a teenage Blu smiling at the camera after drinking out of a cup of hot chocolate, a brown stain on the edge of his beak.

But the last two were more special to me than all the other ones combined.

The fifth showed a serene Blu interacting with our first three children.

One son was huddled against Blu's belly and looking up at his father, the other laying on Blu's head with his eyes closed, probably laughing. Blu's eyes were peering down at our daughter, who was snoozing in his wings with her head buried in his chest.

The sixth was a picture of Blu all by himself in a proud, confident pose, dressed in the fancy tuxedo he had worn on our wedding day.

The updrafts rising from the fire were heating up everything past my legs, and so I clutched the next-to-last photo with my claws and sailed over to the chair to escape the uncomfortable sensation. I sat back down in the same position I had used to sleep, propping the picture up in front of my legs and tilting it just right to remove the glare from the dust-free glass.

Blu looked so handsome and protective, showing the proper devotion of a father to his offspring. The longer I stared at the four creatures, their bodies frozen in time, I felt an emptiness growing inside me.

It was the same cold pit that opened up the day after Blu died, the dreadful and lonely first day of the rest of my life without him. The longer I stared at the four creatures, the more I began to realize what I and the three macaw chicks had lost: a loving mate and a superb father, respectively.

Blu looked so real, as if I could stick my wing through the glass and feel the softness of his feathers. But he was only a memory on a piece of paper, a snapshot of a macaw that had been carried away long ago on the sands of time.

My eyes were riveted to him, even though my mood was cracking under the strain.

My eyes began to water and pour forth salty tears, and I clenched my beak to hold back my sobs. But my beak muscles were too frail, and my broken whimpers escaped anyways. My tears splashed onto the chair in an uneven rhythm, and yet I was still focused on the photo.

"Oh Blu… why did you have to leave me so soon? We were supposed… to die together. You promised we would… you promised you would stay with me… until the very end. Why did… you break… your promise?"

My tired mind ran through the words I had said, and I immediately regretted them.

"Blu… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. You didn't mean… to break your promise. You were just too old… and you couldn't… make it. It wasn't… your fault…"

I broke down even more, turning my head to the right and smashing it into the fabric. I cried so loud that my voice went hoarse, hitting the back of the couch with my wing several times in despair. I ended up choking as my wails caught in my throat, forced to pull my head back so I could breathe.

After practically coughing my lungs out, I hid my face in my wings and mourned quietly, my body shivering from the exertion. I peeked from between my wings and gazed at my late husband, sniffling twice in a row.

"Blu… I need… your help. I need you… to keep… me strong. Please…"

A few seconds later, I felt a searing pain rip across my chest as if I had been slashed with a sword. I doubled over and began to wheeze, my legs twisting beneath me. I lost my balance and pitched onto my side, my eyesight going dim despite the burning beneath my skin.

Was my overworked heart going into spasms as it beat its last?

Fear took hold as I lost consciousness, my last words being "Blu… am I… dying?" before the blackness pulled me under.

When I came to, the first things I picked up on were that my metabolism was calm, my pain-free heart was still thumping inside me, and my eyes were dry. Lifting my head, I noticed that the picture had been knocked over and was now face down.

Blu had done it to spare me when I woke up, disowning himself so that I wouldn't be driven to cry.

The angle of the thin sunbeams cascading through the curtained windows seemed steeper now, meaning that a few hours must have passed. It was probably noon, or very close to noon, as far as I could tell.

My mood was still pitiful as I retrieved the item and replaced it where it belonged. When put into situations like these, where Blu's absence sent me spiraling into an ocean of anguish, no amount of sleep would rescue me from the depths and bring me into the light.

I inhaled and exhaled mournfully, the sooty, spicy smell of the air burning my nostrils. I usually lit candles to prevent the fireplace from filling the house with its odors, but I had forgotten to do so today.

I took off and glided into the kitchen, landing on the table and scanning around for the box of matches. I didn't see it right away, so I walked across the table and paused near the edge. I looked to my right and couldn't see it, but then I looked the other way and finally found it.

It was right up against the fruit bowl, trying to hide from me. I opened it up and plucked out a match, using the rough strip on the side to light the stick in my beak. I waddled quickly over to the short wax candle and lit the wick, blowing the match out before it burned me.

I did the same for the two candles mounted to the hallway wall, the one on the end table to the right of the recliner, and the two nestled on the mantle. The creatures in the photos cast their static stares upon me, never looking in any other direction but to the very root of my soul.

I sighed and flapped over to the window, landing on the sill and spreading the curtains wide. Sunlight streamed in and formed a neat rectangle upon the carpet, coating me from head to tail with its golden warmth.

I closed my eyes for several seconds and let it heat my body, and then blinked them open. There wasn't any jungle to be seen, just a straight road lined with houses. No humans were visible, the chugging of motorcycles and cars absent. It was certainly a picturesque day, one not to be wasted sitting indoors and doing nothing.

But I have my reasons as to why I wasn't leaving this place.

I sunned myself for a few more minutes, the scents of spicy cinnamon and smooth French Vanilla spreading through the air like a cloud. I was perfectly at ease in this seventh heaven of mine, not a single worry or dark thought in my mind.

That urge to reminisce grabbed me, and I took myself back to the mantle. I selected the last snapshot and drifted to the ground with it, standing it up neatly. I grabbed the frame with my wings and brought it closer, locking eyes with my mate.

How handsome he looked, his beak curved into the smile of a happy husband.

I ran one primary down the glass and whispered, "Blu, when will I get to see you again? Hold you again? Kiss you again?"

There was no answer as my voice dropped off, and I set the item down neatly. My heart skipped a beat, and I began to feel tired. I breathed in and crouched onto my legs, hoping it would go away.

It didn't, and a strange kind of calmness I had never felt before swept through me.

I lay down on the rug and held Blu's gaze as I grew even drowsier, my heart missing another beat. I embraced the realization that I was dying, ready to face the music and see what the next life had to offer.

I knew that when I let go, Blu would be waiting for me, and that was all the security I needed. My body began shutting down, most notably my heart, the time between each beat growing longer and longer.

Life was certainly precious, but for someone like me, death was also wonderful in its own way.

It was time for me to leave my body behind and fly with Blu in the world beyond this world. What greater freedom could I possibly ask for than freedom that lasted for an eternity?

"I love you, Blu. We've been apart for so long… but now… we'll be together… forever…"

I failed to stop my eyelids as they slid halfway down over my eyes, and moments later, my heart ceased to beat.

I inhaled my final tender breath, exhaled it, and then cut the chains that connected my soul to my body. My vision went black as I lost consciousness, and a split-second later, I was already far away, so very far away.

And I was never coming back.

* * *

The sight was enough to bring tears to the eyes of whoever grew curious and peeked into the room through the square glass window.

A lonely female macaw, in all her degraded beauty, lay on the floor, her eyes half closed and a smile frozen on her beak. She was paralyzed by the embrace of death, never to move or think or feel again.

But that was only her empty shell, as her soul was long gone. It goes without saying that she was righteous enough to have earned a place in whatever higher realm existed for the departed.

Our microscope is now useless, as Jewel has crossed a certain line into a world beyond technology.

But surely, somewhere up there, higher than the birds and the clouds and the planes, she was cradled in the wings of her ethereal mate, never to leave his side.

Though this story has reached the ultimate end, the situation of our main character is quite the opposite. The years leading up to her passing served only as the prelude to her saga, the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.

Her first life, full of loss and hope and love and sorrow, may have concluded, but as a matter of fact, it was only just beginning.

* * *

**(\ (\ /) /)**

**I**

**I**

**I**

**V**


	7. The Secret Garden

**The Secret Garden**

A lone female macaw was walking through a sheltered glade in the middle of a sunlit forest, the peaceful breeze whispering in its own unique tone as it meandered between the trunks and slipped between the leaves.

Beams of pure golden illumination danced all around her, casting their soulful warmth on every gently swaying flower and blade of grass. The sounds of chirping birds both far and near echoed from all directions, mingling with the multitude of butterflies that fluttered through the air on wings of dust.

For all those who are curious, this plane went by the name of Paradise.

It was a vast land that cycled through all the seasons save for winter, a higher realm meant only for the departed. The lone female macaw was one such being, having left the real world behind five years prior. Those close to her were never the same, but they bid her a melancholy farewell and wished for her to be safe on her travels.

She did not want to leave them, but Mother Earth had called for her, and her personal timepiece in Father Time's hand had stopped ticking.

She was sad for a while, but the sheer amount of joy and bliss and wonder permeating this splendid new world smothered all her negativity. It resembled her former home in so many ways, but it was the subtle magical presence she felt that led her to believe it was something more.

Her first life may have come to an end, but here, her existence was guaranteed to be eternal. She wandered around after her arrival, scouting the rolling hills and exploring the grand valleys, searching for one special place to call her own.

Not long after, she had found such a place, the very location she was present in right now. She deemed it "The Secret Garden," and would never be found too far from her patch of sacred ground.

There were times when the other inhabitants of that world chanced upon her territory, and she welcomed them with open wings and a friendly smile. They would while the hours away without a care, exchanging stories from days gone by, dining on the delicious fruit the trees made available to them, and always treating each other with kindness and hospitality.

But on the flipside, there was always time for her to relax in solace, to reminisce on her past life as well as how great it was to thrive in Paradise.

But it must be noted that she spent a few years alone, as her male counterpart had succeeded her down on _terra firma_. It was not that she deliberately wished for him to perish just so that their separation would cease, but she did long for him to be by her side.

Ultimately, it was not due to natural causes that he was granted the opportunity to be forever bound to her, but a tragic accident that could not have been avoided.

A terrible thunderstorm had targeted the city of Rio with its weather-borne fury, sparing no building or tree as it raced inland. But it did not dump an inch of rain as it ravaged the coast of Brazil, incessant lightning, gale-force winds, and heavy surf its weapons of choice.

The metropolis was built to withstand such a climactic occurrence, but the rain forest was at the storm's mercy. Needless to say, disaster was wrought upon the jungle as severe as a Biblical plague.

Countless trees were toppled, and the rest were struck by bolts from the sky. Whole sections of the rain forest were turned to fields of ash and charred corpses, a few rogue fires even encroaching upon Rio itself and destroying many favelas.

The lifelong companion of the female witnessed firsthand the destruction, trapped in the stout cannonball tree he called home due to the speed with which the tempest manifested. His eldest children, a son and a daughter, were also imprisoned with him, having visited him the very day the pseudo-hurricane was spawned and barred from venturing out.

In a cruel twist of fate, their tree, which had stood tall and mighty in the face of the high winds for several hours, was eventually nailed by a white-hot spear of electricity and set ablaze.

And so it was that the hollow became their grave site, as they were unable to escape.

Wracked with hopelessness and fear, tears streaming down their faces, they huddled in the farthest corner and embraced for the last time as scarlet flames poured in. They burned alive, suffering a miasma of agony that no living being should ever experience.

But after their unimaginable torture was stopped, their souls were set free on a one-way trip to a better place, the horrid, lifeless shells that used to contain them being left behind. During that irreversible trek, a flawless, identical copy of their earthly bodies was gifted to each of them so that they could begin anew.

They were angels through and through, both in the spiritual sense and the literal sense, as they had sublime wings and divine souls. What Heaven was to humans, Paradise was to animals, and all three victims-turned-benefactors instantly fell in love with their new residence.

The family was united once more and linked with unbreakable bonds, and then they were finally able to live happily ever after. But in actuality, the events that transpired to bring them together did not constitute the end of their lives, but the very beginning.

There were many such families spread all across that admirable nation, but that special quartet of macaws was undoubtedly the happiest.

It is time that I end the narrative, so that you, my dear readers, may associate yourselves more closely with her and her kin.

It is time that we inject ourselves into her consciousness and experience what it is truly like to be her, a caring creature with a heart of 24 karat gold.

And last, but certainly not least, it is time for us to experience what it is truly like to spend one day in Paradise…

* * *

The grass tickled my feet and legs as I waded through my little slice of heaven, and I couldn't help but chuckle when the sensation proved too much. I made my way over to the edge of a crystal clear pond to drink, inhaling the lovely air that smelled of many different types of flowers.

But before I arrived, an innocent butterfly drifted down and landed squarely on my beak. I immediately stood still so as not to scare it off, watching as it slowly fanned its orange and black wings idly.

"Did you come to say hello, little guy?"

I wondered if it could understand me, but it sure didn't hurt to greet it anyways.

Carefully, I unfolded my right wing and eased my primaries up to my beak. To my surprise and enjoyment, the insect turned around and bravely walked onto my longest feather on his hair thin legs. I stared at the marvel of design that it was for over a minute, watching as he waltzed all over the fuzzy surface with a carefree attitude.

Being as the direct sunlight hitting my upper body was making me uncomfortably warm, I outstretched my wing as much as I could, elevating the butterfly into the open air.

"It's time for me to say goodbye. Maybe we'll meet again sometime."

On cue, it flapped its wings and caught the breeze, being carried away almost too fast for my eyes to follow.

"Stay safe, little fella," I called as he vanished into the trees.

I continued the rest of the way to the shallow pool and bent over, gulping down three beakfuls of the cool, refreshing liquid. I stood straight up and smacked my beak when I was done, using my wing to wipe off the excess.

I then took one step in the direction of an oak tree to take shelter in the shade, but a familiar, soul-stirring voice stopped me short.

"My my, aren't you looking beautiful today?"

I spun around and locked eyes with my handsome Blu, who was leaning slyly on the trunk of a pine tree across the garden. My eyes shimmered in delight, and I hopped over to him.

"You're not too bad looking yourself, pet," I cooed, pulling him away from the trunk and wrapping my wings around him.

"Of course not, Jewel. My stylish appearance partly explains why you became my mate so long ago."

"You got that right, Blu. I wouldn't trade you for anyone else."

I squeezed him tighter against me and dove in for a kiss, feeling him go limp in my grasp and watching his eyelids droop. I ended our beak-on-beak contact before he ended up on the ground, backing my head away a few inches.

He perked up and sighed, a wash of his spicy breath rushing over me.

"Ahhh… I love it when you kiss me. I'm like hot wax in your wings…"

"Then I better tone it down, or you might end up turning into a puddle that I can't do anything with."

"How did you get so clever? Did my natural intelligence rub off on you?" he asked, pecking me on the cheek.

"I'm sure it did, Blu. I'm sure it did."

He paused and looked over my shoulder, his eyes narrowing.

He stepped away from me and said, "Wait right there, gorgeous. I've been wanting to give you something special."

He bounced to the center of the garden and searched with his eyes, looking in every direction while tapping his wing on his beak. My puzzled expression drilled into him as I tried to make sense of what "gift" he was referring to.

I jolted a bit as he exclaimed, "Ah ha! There's one," and jogged off in one particular direction.

I followed him and came up behind him, stopping before I stepped on his tail.

He bent over and buried his face in a group of crimson and sapphire flowers, and I asked, "Blu, what are you doing? You look like you're-"

He whirled around in that instant, his left foot clutching a stem covered in sharp spines. He donned a juicy expression and held the blossom out to me, his hazel eyes twinkling.

In a suave voice he said, "A blue rose… for my blue rose."

I took it from him, making sure not to stab myself.

"Oh… why thank you, Blu."

I put my nostrils near the curled petals and drew a whiff of the strong, energizing scent into my lungs.

"It matches you perfectly, honey. It's elegant, it's not afraid to use its thorns, and it smells oh-so-luscious."

Tears beaded up in my eyes as his words plucked my heartstrings, and I sniffed once to prevent them from spilling over. I sauntered over to my mate and hugged him, dropping the rose as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Oh Blu… thank you so much. You make me feel so… so loved…"

He ran his wing up and down my spine, answering softly, "You're welcome, honey. It's my job to make you feel that way, because you mean the whole world to me."

He laid his head on my shoulder in turn, planting a smooch on the base of my neck.

"I love you, Jewel, always and forever."

"I love you too, Blu…"

We embraced in unbroken silence from then on, feeding on our affection for each other and the wonderful sensation of our feathers rubbing together. I could have stayed in that position next to Blu until the end of time itself if I wanted to, and I am one-hundred percent sure he could have as well.

Unfortunately for us, our reverie was shattered by the sound of two throats being cleared.

"Ahem, are we interrupting something?" a male voice asked teasingly.

"We came to see how you were doing and perhaps stay for a while, but if you would rather have us drop by later so you can continue, well, interacting…" a female voice added sarcastically.

I separated from Blu and turned towards the source, which happened to be my son and daughter.

"Carmen, Nicholas, it's good to see you both. How has your morning been?" I greeted as Blu and I sauntered over to them.

"It's been great, Mom," Nicholas replied after hugging us.

"Yeah, what he said," Carmen intoned gleefully.

Blu and I smiled at one another, and then did the same with our offspring.

"That's nice to hear, you two," Blu said cheerfully.

"So, is it alright if we stick around until oh, I don't know, this evening?"

"You don't even have to ask, Carmen. Feel free to stay as long as you like."

"Sweet! Thanks, Dad. We've been looking forward to spending quality time with you and Mom, since you know, Nick and I have kinda been keeping to ourselves lately."

"You're welcome, Carmen. But remember, there's nothing wrong with enjoying some personal time, sweetie," Blu replied.

"Yeah, you're right. Sometimes I feel like a young chick again, even though I'm practically an adult."

Blu stroked her face and answered, "That may be true, but you'll always be Daddy's little girl."

I leaned over and kissed my son on the cheek, putting in, "And you'll always be a Momma's boy."

He frowned in disgust and batted at his face, trying in vain to remove the invisible stain of love.

"Aww Mom, come on! Don't go getting all sappy on me!"

I simply grinned, unfazed by his actions.

"As long as I'm your mother, I'll always be sappy, and there's nothing you can do to change that."

Carmen crossed her wings and snorted.

"Mom's right, bro. It's called love, and you should really think about improving your opinion about it."

"With the way I get treated, it's not likely, sis."

She rolled her eyes, and I shook my head in mock disdain, much to Blu's amusement.

"Have you two eaten breakfast?"

Carmen folded her wings over her stomach.

"I sure have, Dad. I had two whole red apples. I am stuffed."

"Nicholas? What about you?"

"Nope. Not yet. I've got a craving for oranges, but I haven't been able to find any. Figures."

"Well, why don't we all four head over to where our hummingbird neighbors live and ask if they can help us out? I'm sure they can lead us to an orange tree that's close by, being as they get around so much. They're Nature's professional crusaders."

In an even tone our son replied, "If you're willing to do that for me, who am I to stop you? Lead the way, Dad."

We sailed determinedly to the east, the endless clusters of trees speeding by beneath us. Upon locating a particularly tall oak tree that projected noticeably above the rest of its companions, we spiraled down to it and drifted through the canopy to the forest floor once more.

A small ensemble of hummingbirds was zipping about in the vicinity, too busy darting about for the fun of it or resting in the many hollows bored into the trunk to notice us. One of them was more familiar than the others, and we recognized him immediately.

It was Spencer, the founder of this little community and Christine's mate. All the other tiny birds rushing back and forth were most likely his children and grandchildren, with some other relatives mixed in as well, I would guess.

"C'mon Blu, let's get his attention, or otherwise we'll be standing here all day."

He motioned with his wings and said, "Right behind you, my dear Jewel."

I hopped forwards with Blu on my tail, Carmen and Nicholas bringing up the rear. When we were about two or three wingspans away from the oak, we stopped and peered up.

Picking the brightly-colored male out, I raised my wings to my beak and called, "Spencer! Hey, Spencer! Down here!"

He executed a high-speed turn and zoomed down to us, slowing down in a split-second and plopping onto the ground.

There were far less rules in Paradise than there were on Earth, one of the primary differences being that we had no metabolisms and did not need to eat to survive. That restriction removal was especially favorable to the hummingbirds, who did not have to constantly feed and thus could spend their time however they wanted.

"Well if it isn't my old pals! How are you all on this sunny summer day?" he greeted in his youthful, bright voice.

I responded, "Amazing, as always. How is your dainty flower doing?"

"Christine? Oh, she's doing wonderful! She's in the tree right now, taking a nap."

Upon hearing this bit of news, I replied, "I think we should stay outside and chat, then. It wouldn't be very nice to disturb her."

Spencer shook his tiny head and chirped, "Actually, I wanted to invite you into our home so we could talk. And it's not like she's going to get upset. She's you guys' best friend too, you know," he declared with a smile.

"Um, are you sure? Absolutely sure?" I asked, a bit hesitant to just barge into their home and rudely end her slumber.

"Yes yes, very sure. She'll be nothing but exuberant when she gets to see you and your family again. Come on, follow me."

I shot a quick glance back at Blu, and he shrugged as if to say, "Oh well, it's what he wants!"

He rocketed into the air and bolted off, and we hurried after him. Luckily, the chamber they called their home was surprisingly large and spacious, providing enough room for all four of us to fit comfortably.

We huddled against the left wall of the hollow, our eyes falling upon the tiny body of the sleeping hummingbird in the equally tiny nest. Spencer motioned with his wings to stay put, whispering through this needle-like beak,

"Give me a few seconds to gently wake her up."

We all nodded, and he stalked over to her without a sound.

He lightly nuzzled his head against hers and chirped, "Christine, dear, we have some very special visitors here today."

She mumbled something and twisted her head away from her mate. He nudged her again with a bit more force, and this time, her head rose up an inch or so.

She rubbed her eyes and muttered, "Blue… eagles? I don't know any… blue eagles. How are they… even real…"

She blinked her eyes fully open and continued, "Wait… is that Jewel I see? And the rest of her family?"

I answered, "You bet, Christine. There isn't another team of macaws quite like ours living around here, as far as I know."

Twin flares of excitement sparked behind her sky blue irises, and she sprang from the nest on her frantically beating wings. She launched her body at me harmlessly – she couldn't possibly weigh more than one or two of my tail feathers – and hugged my chest as best she could.

"I've missed you so much, Jewel! You're the sister I never had, and I wish you'd come around more often."

"Then I apologize, and I promise I'll stick you into my schedule more frequently."

"Thank you so much. It means a lot to me."

"Anytime, Christine."

"You gonna forget about me and the kids, Christine? Our feelings are gonna get hurt," Blu quipped teasingly from behind me.

"Oh, right! On my way, Blu!"

After she had greeted and embraced my mate and our children, she and Spencer squeezed themselves into their nest. We formed a broken circle around them, crouching onto our midsections and tucking our legs beneath us.

You could _feel_ the energy and spirited-ness flowing away from their bodies like a fog, even though they were very old by hummingbird standards – not that age meant anything here.

They had entered Paradise five years before Blu did, the unfortunate victims of Earth's food chain.

After saying goodbye to their third set of children, who had left the nest mature and ready to live their own lives, Spencer and Christine literally ran into a problem whose solution was death. They flew into a spider web they couldn't even see and were entangled by the sticky threads, their wings immobilized, all hope of escape gone.

The web's owner didn't wait to claim its pair of succulent meals.

Christine told me shortly after we met for the first time that she wanted to die next to her mate in that web, all because of what she was forced to witness.

Spencer's scream of pain as the spider pierced his stomach with its fangs, the horrified expression on his face as the spider sucked the life out of him, and lastly, the moment when Spencer's eyes went forever dark and his chest stopped rising and falling.

She had welcomed the fiery agony of the spider's bite and her loss of consciousness as a result, so very glad she would never open her eyes again. It took a few days in Paradise for the memory's incredible grip to fade and release her, but fade it did, and from then on, she looked forward to spending the rest of her unending life with her companion.

Spencer began, "So tell me, what have you guys been up to? Been anywhere or done anything-"

"Um, Mom, Dad, aren't you forgetting to ask them about where I can find some you-know-whats?"

I slammed Nicholas with a hard stare, and so did Blu.

"If you're going to interrupt, at least do it nicely and apologize," I scolded harshly.

Blu queried none-too-happily, "What do you need, Nicholas? Quit being vague."

"You said they could lead us to some oranges so that I can eat…" he answered in a quiet, shamed voice.

I faced the couple and said, "Sorry about that. Nicholas over there has a craving for oranges, but hasn't been able to find any, which may explain why he's not showing much respect."

I turned my head to glare at him for two seconds, and then returned my attention to the hummingbirds.

"Do you think you can help?"

"Absolutely! Most of us who live here love oranges as well, Christine included. That said, we have a sizable stockpile of them in a hollow higher up the tree, whole ones as well as slices."

"Wow, really? Neat! Let me at 'em!"

Nick's eyes gleamed, and he spun and made a dash for the exit. I was about to nail him again, but Blu beat me to it.

He grabbed hold of Nick's tail with his foot and brought him to a not-so-pleasant stop.

"Ouch! Hey, what's the deal, Dad? Let me go!"

"Not until you tell them a sincere thank _you _for letting you eat _their_ food, which they _don't_ have to do."

"There's no need for him to thank us, really. Those oranges are there for everyone, whenever they want some."

Blu shook his head and countered, "But still, Spencer, I am going to make him repay you and Christine for your kindness."

He locked eyes with his son and ordered, "Do it, Nicholas."

Our disgruntled son faced the couple and said, "Thank you for sharing your food with me."

"You're welcome, Nicholas," Spencer replied fluidly.

"Can you let me go now, Dad? Please?"

Blu released his grip with an irritated flick of his foot.

"There. Get a move on. And you better shape up and stop acting so rude."

"Fine, fine," he replied, exhaling crudely.

He scurried out of the hollow and took flight, vanishing from my line of sight.

The female hummingbird quipped warmly, "He seems like quite the character."

"You don't know the half of it, Christine. He's got my looks and Jewel's untamed spirit, that's for sure," Blu replied with narrowed eyes.

"Does he always act like that?" Spencer asked.

I responded, "Hardly. I don't know what's gotten into him lately. He's behaving like a more of a rebel than usual."

"Mom, Dad, can you give me another brother who isn't so… rough around the edges?"

"Not exactly, Carmen. No matter how often we… tried, your mother wouldn't get pregnant."

Carmen fired back, "I know, Dad. I was being sarcastic."

"Oh," Blu replied awkwardly.

"So much for your intelligence, Blu. Where has it all gone?"

"_Eu ouvi isso,_ _Jóia. Ha ha, muito engraçado._" **{I heard that, Jewel. Ha ha, very funny.}**

"So, about that question I asked earlier…" Spencer said pointedly.

Blu answered, "Oh, right right. Well, to be honest…"

And so it was that we resumed the conversation that Nicholas ended prematurely, admitting that no, we had not done anything notable or gone anywhere special.

About ten minutes in, Nicholas came back.

His stomach was obviously distended, and the feathers around his lower beak were matted with juice. Since they were short, it didn't look extremely tacky, but it was noticeable nonetheless.

"Cheese and sprinkles, son! How many oranges did you eat?"

Dreamily, Nicholas replied, "Two entire oranges... Dad. I am so full… I think I might explode…"

He parted his beak and burped long and loud, covering his beak after he was done.

"Oops. Sorry!" he said in a muffled tone from behind his wings.

I rolled my eyes and said flatly, "At least you apologized…"

The next thing I knew, I saw a small head peek out from behind him… the head of a female hummingbird.

She was stealthily clinging to his back, her low weight allowing her to hang on unnoticed. She waved her wing briefly, a cheeky smile on her beak, and hid her head again.

We all began giggling, especially Christine and Spencer.

"What? What's so darn funny?"

None of us answered him, continuing our restrained laughing.

"Ugh, tell me already! Seriously!"

The ninja-like female crawled up to the back of his neck, raised her head, and pecked the top of his skull several times.

The instant he jerked his head up and saw her, she squealed, "Surprise!"

"Ahhhh! Get it off! Get if off!"

She leapt away as he batted at his head with his wings, dodging them expertly with her extreme speed and streaking to the floor in front of her parents' nest.

Sensing that she was gone, he refolded his wings and squawked, "Scared the daylights… outta me! You hummingbirds… are… crazy!"

He fused his gaze with the skilled bodily hitchhiker and asked while panting, "Who… who are you?"

In a sugary tone she replied, "I'm Lexi!"

"And Lexi is our daughter, Nicholas," Spencer answered proudly.

Nick frowned angrily.

"Figures. You guys find the strangest ways to have fun… at other peoples' expense…"

"It's in our blood to be tricksters, Nick. Nothing you can do about it," Christine declared haughtily.

"I can put my wings to good use and leave, can't I?"

Lexi ran over to Nick and seized the edge of his wing.

"Come on, don't leave. I just got here! I bet we'll be good friends once we get to know each other."

"Yeah, sure we will…" he said, sounding one-hundred percent opposed to the idea.

"No worries, Lexi. He'll get over his displeasure and play nice, because he won't be going anywhere until I say so," I stated matter-of-factly.

"Why are you always against me, Mom?"

"I am not _always _against you, son. Don't even go there. I am just against you _this_ time, and I have a right to be."

He let out a leaden sigh of defeat, moving over to the leftmost wall and reclining against it in a huff.

"You can go talk with him, Lexi. He won't bite. Because if he does, I'll bite back harder."

"I sure will then. Thanks, Jewel!"

"You're welcome, Lexi."

She buzzed over to him like an oversized, ornate bee and land in front of him, asking, "Tell me about yourself, Nicky Nick. I'm all ears."

"I will if you call me by my real name…"

"Okay, Nicholas. I will."

"That's better."

He cleared his throat and said, "Anyways, I took after my mother…"

While the two new acquaintances chattered back and forth, the rest of us did the same. We never ran out of things to discuss, as strange as it sounded, even though it was all small talk.

But for me, at least, it did get somewhat boring after a while. It had nothing to do with me being unappreciative of the hummingbirds' company. Instead, I was itching to fly back home. After another hour and a half, I expressed my wish to leave.

Thankfully, the hummingbird trio was not offended or hurt by my honesty. And it was true that I had had a wonderful time with them, so there was no burden of guilt on my conscience either.

We said our goodbyes, shook wings with our neighbors, and bid them farewell.

Back at our secret garden, Carmen wandered off a short ways to smell the flowers and Nicholas took a nap while Blu and I relaxed in each other's wings next to the pristine pond.

"Hey Jewel, guess what?"

"What?"

He stated, "I love you."

"I love you too, handsome."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"If you insist, Blu…"

I melded my beak with his, infusing as much passion into the kiss as I could. He stood his ground and kissed back, grunting luxuriously.

I reached around with my free wing and glued it to the back of his neck, preventing him from pulling away. He did the same and planted his wing on my lower back, massaging my feathers and sending shivers up my spine.

Our beaks smacked loudly as our tongues went at it with each other, our breathing becoming labored and deep. I rolled myself on top of him and squeezed him tighter, feeling him shudder and his muscles ripple beneath me.

"Would you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep…" Nicholas squawked drowsily, obviously unaware of what we were doing.

Blu then flipped me over with too much force, causing us to barrel-roll more than once and come to a stop in a dense clump of flowers. He positioned himself on top of me in a show of dominance, devouring my beak and setting my senses ablaze with pleasure.

I felt a wave of dizzying thrill rush through me as our nether regions briefly met, and I moaned into his beak. He broke the kiss off and lifted his head, gazing down at me with eyes full of love… and lust.

"You're tempting me… to go all the way… with you. Do you want that?" he said through a clenched beak.

"If Nicholas wasn't here… I would. We'll have to settle… for sensual foreplay…"

"Hmmm… you're right. Foreplay is… enough for me… then. Now… where were we…"

He lowered himself onto me, using gravity to his advantage and cementing our smooth bodies together. He tilted his head down and feasted on my neck like a vampire, licking all over and biting me harmlessly.

"Oh yes… that's it… Blu. Mmm… taste me… all you want…"

"Mom, Dad, can you please be quiet? Aren't you gonna show me some respect?"

I was oblivious to the sound of him approaching, though I have to say I didn't care, as I was lost in the blissful moment.

"I did what you asked me to do back in our neighbors' hollow, but you aren't doing what I am asking you… oh brother…"

His voice went silent, and I heard him gulp down a lump of sheer embarrassment.

"Yeah… I think I'm just gonna… go over there… for a while. You two are clearly… very busy…"

The sound of his legs shuffling through the flower stems as he hobbled away was drowned out by our grunts.

"Well… now that… he's gone… do you want to…"

"Yes…" I answered. "We haven't done this… in a long time… so let's make it… a memory… we won't… forget…"

"As you wish… my beautiful Jewel…"

And so it was that my mate blew my mind for the next ten minutes with his body, driving me deeper and deeper into a pit of ecstasy until I self-destructed. I did the same to him, naturally, kissing and stroking and thrusting into him until he passed the point of no return.

The writhing of our bodies as we reached the pinnacle of stimulation brought our escapade to an end, and what an intimate end it was. Due to our divinely healthy systems, we were not exhausted in the least, only delirious as we bathed in the mellow afterglow of our shameless act.

Oh how I felt so close to Blu, our bodies intertwined, my head resting on his chest, his wings wrapped around me protectively… the list went on and on.

This was how we were meant to be, a bond of companionship and love and security that not even death could break. For us, it was paradise in Paradise, and it was a deep-seated feeling of splendor and warmth unmatched.

"I love you, Jewel, and I will always treasure you like the stunning gem you are…" he whispered into my ear.

"I love you too, Blu. You stole my heart, and I am okay with that. And I never want you to give it back…"

We surrendered to the silence and lay there, motionless and perfectly content. Our children made their way back within the hour, effectively ending our period of solitude and reflection.

We talked idly with them about whatever was on our minds, passing the time as lazily as possible. The sun was a few hours ahead of midday, on the home stretch that would lead to it setting and temporarily disappearing.

Running out of interesting things to converse about, we decided to all nap, but then coincidence intervened.

The sounds of grass rustling and faint chattering filtering from the forest behind us caught our attention, and we spun our bodies around as the noises grew ever-louder. It wasn't long before the creatures responsible emerged from the shadows and halted as they came upon us.

There were three of them, each incredibly unique compared to one another, and I had no clue what any of them were.

The one on the right was a female about half my height. She was mostly dressed in feathers the exact same color as Blu's, her wings and tail also decorated with many streaks of black and a few streaks of white.

The bird in the middle was definitely male, his entire upper body made up of shimmering azure feathers that reflected the sunlight. He also wore a funny crest of feathers on top of his head that vibrated in the breeze. He was by far the heaviest of the three, at least twice as tall as me with a sturdy neck, a stocky chest, and powerful legs. His tail was very long and bulky-looking, the end of it somewhere past the oak tree he was standing next to.

The bird on the left was another female, a few inches taller than the male. Her lower back and tail were pure black, while the rest of her was a soft gray hue. Her legs were surprisingly bony, but they must have been durable, because they were long enough to hold her entire body at least two feet off the ground. Lastly, a bunch of black feathers sprouted from the back of her head that lay flat against her nape, easily reaching the point where her neck fused with her back.

I was certainly impressed and awed by these strange visitors, as were my children, but Blu seemed more intrigued than anything.

"Why hello there! I don't think any of _us _have met any of _you_ before. What are your names?" Blu asked merrily.

"My name is Kira," the super-tall female said huskily.

"I'm Hailey," the other female answered in a smooth, lively tone.

"And I go by Blake," the lone male replied boldly.

Blu gestured to me and our offspring with a sweep of his wing.

"My name is Blu. That lovely bird you see right there is my mate, Jewel, and these are our children, Carmen and Nicholas."

He sidled up to Kira and held his wing out for her to shake, and she did. He repeated the maneuver with the other two, my kids and I bursting into laughter when Blake's huge wing knocked Blu off his feet. Nicholas, Carmen, and I then shook wings with them to conclude the introductions, Blake restraining himself this time.

Being as no one had popped the question yet – and the fact that my children were as confused as I was – I took the initiative to obtain the answer they and I needed. I ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder just as he began to speak.

"So, what brings you all here-"

"Um, Blu, pardon me for interrupting, but can you tell me what kinds of birds they are? I honestly have no idea."

He gazed at me with wide eyes, and then slapped a confident smile on his sharp beak.

"Not a problem, Jewel. Kira here is a secretary bird, Blake is a peacock, and Hailey is a blue jay."

The trio of birds nodded in agreement, their heads bobbing at different rates.

"You sure are as smart as you look, Blu. There's a certain vibe about you that says you've got a bigger brain than most," the peacock complimented.

"Thanks, Blake. I used to get that a lot before I came here, especially from Jewel. As a matter of fact, I still do."

He shot me a pleased glance, and I sent him a silent "You're welcome" in the form of an air kiss.

"Say, why don't we group up in the shade over there and get to know more about each other? That is why you all came to meet us, right?"

Hailey replied, "You bet, Jewel. None of us have been here for more than a month, and the only friends we've made so far have been each other. A few of the locals suggested we look for a family of super-rare macaws, which must be you four, huh?"

"That's us! We're Spix's Macaws, and we were the last of our kind on Earth. As you can probably figure out, we're extinct now."

Kira snickered and remarked, "According to the humans you are, Blu."

"Oh, yeah, you're right! Cheese and sprinkles that was good, Kira!"

Three puzzled stares landed squarely on Blu, and no one uttered another word.

After an awkward silence, he squawked, "Um… it's a Minnesota thing…"

"It's a long story, guys. Don't even bother asking him to explain, or we'll all end up laughing until we drop."

Hailey chirped, "He he, whatever you say Jewel!"

"My beak is sealed," quipped Blake.

"If you insist," Kira concluded.

Once we had all settled under the heavy shadow of the grand oak and gotten ourselves comfortable, I kicked off the lengthy conversation we were sure to have by asking the single biggest question yet.

"Blake, Hailey, Kira, would you mind telling us how you all died?"

"Why not, Jewel?" they chanted in unison.

"Alright then. Would you three rather go first, or do you want us to take the spotlight?"

Blake bent his head in thought, and then responded, "Hmmm... I would like for you all to go first."

Hailey chimed in, "So do I,"

Kira finalized, "As do I. And then I will be delighted to tell the tale of my own doom."

"I guess it's unanimous, then."

I drew in a deep breath and collected myself, and then spoke calmly.

"My life ended pretty boringly at the age of fifty-three. I was really old, and I went out like a light in my sleep. Nothing more to it."

Three pairs of eyes shifted to Blu, and he coughed once.

"I was caught in a wicked storm in my hometown of Rio De Janeiro. The ferocious winds made flying impossible, and I could not leave my hollow. My tree got hit by lightning, and because it wasn't raining, it essentially turned into a giant match. So yeah, I ended up burning alive, and let me tell you, I'm thankful I only had to go through it once."

"Carmen and I burned with him, because we had stopped by before the storm hit, and couldn't leave. What a nasty triple-play, eh?"

"It sure sounds like it. What a terrible way to go."

Blu squinted and retorted, "You don't even know the half of it, Blake. Good thing I only cooked for one minute. Breathing in lungfuls of smoke also helped speed things along. But I'm glad it's all over. I much prefer immortality."

"Alright, so who's up next?" I asked.

"I'll take my turn, Jewel," the secretary bird said.

"Great, Kira. Whenever you're ready."

She shook her head briskly and adjusted her pose a bit, as she was crouching down on the ground with her legs tucked beneath her.

"While I was living my life out on the plains of Africa, I was shot in the back by a hunter's arrow, most likely because he wanted to harvest my quills. It didn't kill me right then, and I flew away. I summoned up the courage to remove it a few hours later, and the pain was so intense I passed out. Afterwards, I hoped that the wound would heal and I would get better, but that hunter must have put something on the arrowhead to prevent that from happening. The tear in my skin did stop bleeding, but it was already infected. I got sicker and sicker, more and more of my energy draining away, and after a week, I realized I wasn't going to make it."

She halted for a bit, and then resumed.

"I tried to find my mother and father and say my goodbyes, but by then I was too weak, and the journey was too long. I abandoned the trip and crawled back to the rain tree I had lived in ever since I matured. I spent the entire day lying against the trunk, dreaming of all the happy memories I had experienced in the past and making peace with myself. I was so incredibly tired that I couldn't even move, and I was constantly fading in and out of consciousness. I finally fell into a deep sleep as the sun set, the air warm and the stars burning bright. My body must have given out and lost the battle that night, because I never woke up. But the next thing I knew, I was here, and I was back to normal."

"Wow. What a gripping turn of events. Thanks for your input, Kira."

She rocked her head up and down twice in a hearty nod.

"My pleasure, Blu."

She turned her head and eyed Blake pointedly.

He met her piercing stare, effectively getting the hint. He sucked in a huge breath of air and parted the halves of his tawny beak.

"I ended up going just like you, Jewel, at the ripe age of twenty-five years. I usually fathered about six to eight chicks per year, so I can say that I've had a ton of kids. Anyways, I had a good life, but once my tail started falling apart, that was the end of the road for me. When the very object that defines you is ruined, it's pretty much game over in my society. I got teased by all the younger males, and the females wanted nothing to do with a ragged old guy like me. Nor respect, no compassion, no romance, nothing. I was ready to get the heck outta there, if you know what I mean. I sure was relieved when my heart stopped beating, because my soul took off like a rocket. I sailed into this place with a brand new tail and a bright, healthy body, and I am finally content."

"Congratulations then, Blake. Now you can strut your stuff and flash your magnificent tail whenever you want."

"You said it, Blu. Thanks a bunch. I think I like you already."

"Likewise, Blake."

"I'm the only one left, it seems. Well, here goes!" Hailey spewed out excitedly.

We riveted our eyes to her as she spoke in that vigorous voice of hers.

"I got kicked off of Earth during one tranquil fall day, and I blame one careless human and a dose of bad luck. I lived in a birch tree right next to a curvy road at the base of a mountain, and I crossed that thing dozens of times per day without any issue. But it just so happened that, as I was shooting across on the way to my favorite breakfast spot one chilly morning, I ended up in the path of a speeding sports car. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I smacked into the windshield. I was fine one second and toast the next, and I didn't feel a thing. If you're wondering what happened to me, let me describe it this way. My body splattered on the glass like a fresh-baked apple pie dropped onto a kitchen floor. But then boom, I got all fixed up in the blink of an eye, and now I'm back in action."

"Yikes. Leave it up to humans and their deadly technology to turn you from a living, breathing creature to a statistic."

"Pretty much, Blu. Tell me something I _don't_ know. But eh, I don't care. Life here is way better than life on Earth ever could have been. I may not be able to have a family, but I am pretty sure I can find a male blue jay that will come to love me if I search hard enough."

"I think I might copy you, Hailey. I was too young and self-absorbed to bother looking for a mate back on Earth, but now, I am going to persevere until I find 'the one.' "

"That's the spirit, you two. There are plenty of fish in the sea… or rather, birds in the sky, since we're not underwater."

We lapsed into a short spell of laughter in response to Blu's statement, and he started laughing too.

We spent the rest of the day with them, forming connections of friendship that were guaranteed to last without spoiling, just as we had predicted. Our family had grown in that sense, as we had gained a deeper understanding of three birds who started off as complete strangers, but were then converted into something more.

Though they were one-of-a-kind based on their appearances and personalities, they were also just like us. They had each earned the right to exist in Paradise, whether or not their lives were cut unfairly short. As we watched them glide off into the sunset, the orange and red and gold beams swallowing them up, swells of all-too-common happiness burst forth within us.

Blu and our children retired and chose where they were going to sleep, Nick and Carmen opting to spend the night with us rather than be alone in their own homes. I was the last one to go, remaining at the edge of the secret garden and staring off into the distance long after our friends had melted away.

I was not blinded by the rays of the descending sun, peering deeper and deeper into the center of the sinking disk until I entered a trance. I swore I felt myself take off and plunge into the blazing orb like a meteorite, soul-pleasing heat swarming around my spirit and putting me at peace.

I the three-dimensional flames that surrounded me, I saw the forms of two birds I only harbored the murkiest memory of: my parents. They smiled at me and tickled me with their wings, wordlessly saying hello to me as they had done when I was a hatchling.

It was as if I had known them all my life, as if they had never been taken from me only a few days after I was born.

I felt like I spent one-thousand years with them inside that ball of fire, and when that time was up, they bid me farewell and melted back into the flames from which they came. I exited the sun and traveled in reverse, the lucid vision ceasing.

It was so very far away now, unreachable, but it would always be there, as would my parents.

Out of the blue, I felt a tap on my shoulder, followed by his pearly voice.

"Are you coming, honey? I can't sleep without you by my side."

"Yeah… I'm coming… I'll be right there…" I replied dreamily, still dazzled by the nature of my hallucination.

"Why are you talking like that? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry… about me. I'll be there… soon…"

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

When he was gone, my beak parted of its own accord.

"Mom… Dad… I love you. Whenever you want me to... call me here… and I'll fly off… to be with you…"

No matter how many millions of miles separated us, we were a part of the same Paradise, and they would always be there when I needed them.

I cracked a smile and whispered, "With you watching over me, maybe my secret garden… isn't so secret after all…"

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	8. Love Isn't Blind

**A/N: Well, this is the last update I will apply to ACOSS II. I hope you have enjoyed the buffet of mini-stories I have served you all (if the 8,450 word chapter before this can be referred to as mini :P) because I sure have enjoyed writing them all.**

**Toss me a review if you like. The ones I have accrued so far are very nice, so feel free to add one of your own.**

**So long, everyone, until my next update to NtY: TSC!**

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**Love Isn't Blind**

It was the most sensational, heartwarming feeling I had ever experienced in my troubled life, and it almost brought me to the brink of tears.

Two young hybrid macaws were huddled against my belly, their tender bodies like a pair of warm marshmallows. They were sleeping so peacefully, I did not dare disturb them and put an end to their delightful dreams.

Serena and Violet were their names, and they were my daughters.

They were forever a part of me, two heavenly bundles of life that I had jointly created with Brooklyn.

The sense of utmost pride that had swelled within me since their hatching two weeks ago had not yet faded, its invigorating quality making me feel like I was a teenager again. Granted, I wasn't some elderly bird either, but my point still stands.

Just one year ago I was a lonely macaw with a slim chance at a normal life, my parents the only macaws I had ever known and been close to. But now I was a mate and a father, a monumental duo of achievements for someone with a disability like mine.

It was no one's fault that I turned out the way I did, blind since the very day I was born.

Life was so very hard back then, Mom and Dad lapsing in and out of depression as time flowed on because they couldn't heal me, their first and only son. And on top of that, I often trapped myself at the razor's keen edge a multitude of times, coming so very close to giving up on my life and purposely casting myself into an ocean of despair and worthlessness.

But by way of some multi-faceted miracle, I pulled through and made the best out of my existence, as any other bird would have done. My parents were the driving force that helped me become the macaw I am today, and my sweet Brooklyn came along at precisely the right time to seal the deal.

She had her quirks and her flaws, but there was no other female better suited to be my mate and the mother of my children. And let's face it, not one single living thing on this planet is a true angel.

As my Dad had once told me, "Samuel, we are all broken creatures, and yes, some are more broken than others. But no matter how many imperfections someone has, it is their job to face the music and keep moving forward. You only have one life to live, son, so live it to the fullest while you can. Because when it comes to an end, you'll be happy that you did the best with what you had."

I had never forgotten those valuable words of his, and I called upon them whenever things got rough.

But honestly, it had been nothing but smooth sailing ever since the eggs that Brooklyn laid cracked open and released my daughters, the very beings that were tucked against my midsection right this very moment. Their hushed breathing was like the sound of a slow breeze slipping through a weeping willow, their delicate chests rising and falling in two distinct rhythms.

It was now my turn to nurture them and teach them and shape them into strong, intelligent macaws, just as Mom and Dad had done with me. I had already proven I had overcome my handicap by learning how to fly, and I swore that nothing would stop me from doing it yet again.

To raise two healthy, vibrant daughters was my short-term and long-term goal, one that would keep me occupied for some time. And without a doubt, my mate would be right beside me to help me out whenever I needed it.

I may have shown fate who was stronger by besting my blindness, but I still couldn't do _everything_. That's when I could depend on Brooklyn to take my wing in hers and give me a helping hand.

We were a family through and through, and it was our collective duty to support each other without pause.

But for now, we were at liberty to relax and revel in the bliss of the journey known as parenthood. And I was determined to take things slow and steady for one blatant reason: I needed to store up energy for when Brooklyn and I taught Violet and Serena how to walk and fly.

Basically, I needed to be prepared for when they started causing general havoc in this cozy hollow, lest I get stressed out and start plucking my feathers. My mate had always complimented me on my handsome, boyish appearance, and I wasn't about to ruin that now.

Speaking of my mate, she had taken off earlier to fetch breakfast and had not yet returned. A small part of me was inherently worried about her safety in this ruthless jungle, but my anxiety was drowned out by the positive emotion bathing me from head to tail.

I lifted my left wing and stroked their exposed cheeks as lightly as possible, timing my sweeps with their breathing. They were easily distinguishable now that their plumage had sprouted from their once-bare skin.

Violet was the one on the left, her deep navy feathers a trait she inherited from her mother.

Serena was somewhere in the middle, lighter than Brooklyn but darker than me, also sporting the yellow flesh around her eyes and along the edges of her lower beak. Teal was probably the best description of the color she wore, and it was a very fine color indeed.

I exhaled a sigh and continued massaging their cheeks, but then withdrew my wing when I felt them stir and utter weak chirps.

"I'm sorry, my dears. Forgive me for disturbing you…" I murmured in a liquid voice, ushering them back into their mysterious fantasies.

After a short spell of silence, the faint whooshing of wing-beats resounded from outside, past the leaf curtain draped over the entrance to our home.

I lifted my head and peered in the direction of the noise, hearing the rustle of the curtain as my mate slipped through and _thump_ she made when she landed. I shielded our chicks from the rays of sunlight that streamed in, and then stowed my wing away one the telltale heat vanished.

"They're still sleeping?" she asked in a mere whisper.

"Yes, they are. It actually makes _me_ feel tired," I replied with the same amount of volume.

"They wore themselves out yesterday with all their moving around in the nest, so it makes sense."

"Yeah, it does. Just wait until they open their eyes and see the world for the first time. It's going to get worse," I said with a restrained chuckle.

She giggled in return, a fitting smile probably forming on her beak.

"What did you bring back for us, sweetie?"

"A fat mango for you and me to share, and a bunch of berries for them."

I sniffed the air a few times and picked up the rich odors of the fruit in question, the tangy-ness of a ripe mango swirling with the sugary scent of the berries.

"It all smells delicious, Brooklyn. It'll be a tasty breakfast for sure."

"Uh huh. It sure will, Sam. But I think we should wait for them to wake up on their own, instead of forcing them to."

"Good idea. The poor things need all the rest they can get."

I cocked my head and showed my right cheek to her.

"While we wait, can I have a morning kiss, my dear?"

"You sure can, Sammy."

She graced my feathers with a dainty kiss, sending my heart aflutter inside me.

"Mwah! There you go, handsome. Now, do I-"

Before she could conclude her sentence, our daughters squirmed and squeaked, pushing against my stomach and unfurling their diminutive wings.

They were awake, no doubt about it, and it stands to reason that they were hungry. I stepped back to give them more room, feeling the vibrations they caused as they searched aimlessly for their morning snacks, their eyes still sealed shut.

"Alright, _now_ we can feed them," I said in my normal tone.

"One step ahead of you, Sam."

I could feel the berries plunking into the nest as she dropped them in, and the chicks chirped as they located their snacks and set upon them.

"Wow, look at them go. They're so cute when they're munching away."

"Yeah, they sure are. In fact, I'll bet they're as attractive as their mother."

"Thank you for the compliment, sweetie."

"Anytime, my dear," I cooed.

"You really do take after your father. I always hear him praising your mother."

I smirked haughtily and replied, "That's because we both want our wonderful soul mates to be reminded of how much they mean to us."

"Then I don't ever want you to stop," she answered.

"Trust me, I won't."

She framed my face with her wings and meshed her beak with mine, her luxurious, full-on kiss causing my pulse to race. I melted like a candle held over a flame, my tongue fiddling with hers as my wings crossed upon her back. She then pulled away slowly, inhaling a deep breath and sighing blissfully.

"I love you, Samuel, with all my heart and soul."

"I love you too, Brooklyn, and I always will, even after I'm gone."

I fused my gaze with hers and started endlessly into her eyes. Correction, where I assumed her eyes were.

"A little to the right, Sam," she instructed benignly.

I turned my head just the right amount, and she said, "Now you've got it. Your eyes are so charming, you know that? Such a rich amber shade… like the color of leaves in November…"

I blushed madly and answered coyly, "Well, um, thank you, honey. Your eyes must be amazing too."

My voice quaked a bit towards the end, and my head turned away slightly in regret.

"Oh Samuel… I know it's hard. But you're tough, remember?"

I sighed and face her again. "You're right. I'm sorry. I keep promising not to get myself down with pointless longing, but I can't help it sometimes…"

"No no, Samuel, don't apologize," she replied soothingly.

"I don't know _exactly_ what you're feeling, but if I were you, I wouldn't try to trap my emotions. Don't ever feel bad about expressing yourself."

"Yeah. You have a point. Look, I'm sorry for... oh great, there I go again. How about we eat now?"

"Sure thing, Sammy."

I smelled the penetrating aroma of the mango as she held it in front of my beak.

"You take the first bite."

"Why thank you, my dear."

And so I did, carving out a pleasing portion with my sharp beak – another feature passed down from my Dad to me – and then motioned for my mate to do the same. We consumed the mango after taking three bites each, licking each other's beaks clean in a show of playful affection.

When we had both stopped giggling, she wiped off the excess saliva she had left in place of the mango stains, and I returned the favor.

"_That_ was exciting, Sammy."

"I agree one-hundred percent, Brooklyn."

"Oh my… can it be true?"

Caught off guard, I asked in a hurry, "What? What's going on?"

"It's Violet… she… she opened her eyes. And they're just like yours, Sam."

I blinked and peered down at Violet, overjoyed by the sudden completion of her milestone. She had taken her first big step in life, the natural world now hers to behold and savor.

I felt her out with my wings and raised her up, locking my useless eyes with her functional ones.

"Congratulations, my dear daughter. I'm so happy for you…"

I rested her against my chest in a fatherly hug, and she let loose an acceptant chirp of glee.

"I love you, Violet… just as much as I love your mother…"

I tilted my head a bit and gazed at Brooklyn, sensing rather than seeing the smile that erupted on her beak.

And then a second round of uplifting words poured from my mate in that deep, mature tone of hers: "Now Serena's opened her eyes too… and she's got my irises. Oh Sam, they're so pretty…"

I heard Brooklyn sniffle, as if her jovial tears were on the brink of spilling over.

She reached into the nest and claimed our other child, cooing, "This is a day I won't soon forget. You and your sister are growing up so fast... it's like a dream come true…"

I sighed and intoned softly, "They've only been out of their eggs for two weeks, and they're already creating memories. Moments like these are what starting a family is all about, Brooklyn. Bringing new souls into the world and watching them expand their horizons…"

"So true, Samuel. So very true…"

She paused and sniffled once more, then resumed speaking.

"We need to take them to your parents right away, so that they can witness this crowning achievement in their grandchildren's' lives firsthand."

I may have been a natural at flying blind, but navigating the rainforest was a whole lot trickier than soaring through the open sky with no obstacles. And for me to have to carry a chick while doing so… it was a recipe for likely disaster.

"Are you suggesting we fly? Because I would have to go very slowly, and carrying one of our chicks would put them in too much danger."

She retorted, "Yes… I mean no!"

Cooling off, she added, "The only option we have is to walk."

"Yeah…"

"Let's go then... and hope we don't run into any snakes or eagles on the way…"

"Brooklyn, please, no need to go there," I said in a warning tone.

She sighed, but said nothing more.

"We're going on a trip, Violet. I promise I'll keep you safe."

She squeaked and pulled herself against me, as if in preparation for the journey ahead. I straightened my legs and stood up, setting one down outside the nest.

"Oh wow… what a coincidence! Looks like we won't be leaving after all."

I froze and asked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I see your parents. And they're on their way here right now."

I secretly let loose a sigh of relief that the trek was cancelled.

I didn't think it was worth going and risking our lives – and theirs, for that matter – but Brooklyn would have started arguing if I voiced my inner opinion. Best we not expose our daughters to that kind of conflict and inflict a long-lasting emotional scar.

I unfroze myself and withdrew back into the nest, assuming my former stance. Brooklyn retreated from the entrance and climbed in the nest, planting herself on my right.

"Quick, let's hide their faces so we can surprise them," she ordered in a fast whisper.

"Right, good idea," I responded, tucking Violet's beak into my chest with a light push of my wing.

The volume of their wing beats was amplified more and more, peaking as they drifted into our hollow and then dropping off.

"Whew… we made it. I wonder why it felt like it took us longer to get here, Blu."

"I don't think I know… Jewel…"

"So… how have you and Brooklyn been lately, son? And what about our darling granddaughters?"

My finer-than-average sensibilities picked up on a strange sensation emanating from them, and my curiosity was piqued. Their spaced words also added to my intrigue.

"Sorry for answering a question… with a question, but are you two alright? You both seem… flustered. Did you have a race to see who could get here first or something?"

"Um no, we didn't," countered my father.

"Your father and I just finished taking care of… some personal business. It had nothing to do with racing. Anyways, let's drop the subject," my mother said sheepishly.

"We have… much more important things to discuss, son," my Dad professed.

_They sure are acting awful sketchy. Why would they avoid my question and get away from that certain topic? Wait a minute… oh brother… I bet I know what they did. Curse me and my heightened intuition…_

I groaned and gave my head a shake.

"What was that for, son? Are _you_ alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom. It's... it's nothing."

"Glad to hear it. So, may I hold Violet, Brooklyn?"

"Oh sure, sure," my mate replied.

"I would like to hold Serena, if you don't mind, son."

"Come and get her, Dad."

A lot of shuffling resounded as Brooklyn and I handed our children over, and the anticipation began to bubble and roil within me like hot magma. And sure enough, my parents uncovered the pair of surprises waiting for them.

"Oh my gosh… Violet! Your eyes are open!"

"So are Serena's! Wow! They're… they're beautiful…"

"That's exactly how _we_ reacted, Mom and Dad. They opened them a little while ago, right before you came," I stated.

"Well, I sure didn't expect anything like _this_ today. This is… such a wonderful time for us all…"

"Isn't it, Blu?" my Mother answered, her voice quaking with unadulterated joy.

"I see you in Serena's eyes, son, and I even see a little glimpse of myself…" my Dad said in a heavenly tone.

"D-D-Dad-dy?"

Me and the other three adults gasped as the high-pitched squeak radiated in all directions.

"Was that… Serena?" I asked.

My Dad answered emotionally, "She said her first word… she thinks… I'm her Daddy…"

I heard footsteps advance in my direction, and then I felt my Dad transfer Serena back to me.

I cradled her against my chest with my wings as he said, "You're her father. She belongs with you…"

I felt Serena's head move in a way that told me she was looking up at me.

"Da-Daddy?"

"Yes, my sweet Serena. I'm your Daddy…"

She chirped in sublime appreciation and snuggled against my feathers, and my self-control was starting to dwindle. And then, Serena's sister imitated her and called for me.

"Dada… Dada…"

"_Cristo Rendentor…_ I can't take much more of this. This is such… a monumental day… for us all…" my mother whispered, on the verge of tears.

Violet was placed in my grasp as well, and I held them tenderly, side-by-side.

"Dada…" Violet murmured in a tone that was slightly deeper than Serena's.

She rubbed her beak against my chest, and then fell still.

And that was when the liquid pooled in my ruined eyes, a few drops snaking down my face. I let them flow shamelessly in front of my family, so that they all could see how blessed I was. To know that I was the father of the marvelous bundles of life in my wings… I was nothing short of ecstatic and moved to tears.

"Oh Samuel… go ahead and let it all out," said Brooklyn as she placed her wing upon my back and massaged my spine.

"Everyone… I have to say some things… but give me a minute… to compose myself…"

I inhaled a deep breath, sniffled, and then opened my beak.

"Where I am now… in this less-than-complete body of mine… I owe my success to you… Mom and Dad… for never giving up on me…"

I rotated my head to the left and continued, "And to you… Brooklyn… for choosing to become my mate… and for being… the light of my life..."

I sniffled again and continued, "Your combined efforts… have renewed me… given me a new purpose in life… allowed me to become a mate… and a father… and I thank you all."

"You're welcome, Samuel…" they all three replied with melancholy voices.

I shifted my daughters to make them more comfortable, and then I prepared to say the knockout line.

"You all have taught me so much… in my life… but the greatest thing I've learned is…"

I sucked in another breath, and let the revelation-worthy words flow.

"My eyes may be useless… but I will always be able to see… because love isn't blind…"

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